Joss Whedon's Justice League is the definitive cut of the film and not Zack Snyder's, Warner Bros. allegedly says. It's no secret that the 2017 film had a tumultuous production. While Snyder was always credited as the director, it was Whedon who supervised Justice League's theatrical cut, and it was significantly different from the original plan. This resulted in the Snyder Cut movement, which culminated with Zack Snyder's Justice League releasing on HBO Max in 2021.
Now, amid the Warner Bros. Discovery shakeup that resulted in the cancellation of Batgirl, a film that was near completion, the different versions of Justice League are once again at the center of the public conversation. When news first broke out that the Leslie Grace-led movie was being shelved, there was a lot of confusion regarding whether this was indeed the case. Eventually, more sources backed up the initial reveal, and Warner Bros. released a statement confirming Batgirl's cancellation. According to a spokesperson, it's part of the management's strategic shift to focus on making theatrical films, particularly when DC superheroes are involved. Amid all of this, new information about what the company's official stance is on which the definitive iteration of Justice League is.
In a new report from Rolling Stone, the outlet cites a source that talked to documentary filmmaker Leslie Iwerks, who reached out to Warner Bros. about using footage from Zack Snyder's Justice League for an upcoming project. According to the company, Whedon's 2017 theatrical cut is the definitive iteration, and should therefore be used instead. Read the related excerpt below:
Technically, Batgirl was part of the so-called SnyderVerse, given that J.K. Simmons, who plays Commissioner Gordon, appeared in the Snyder Cut of Justice League. In a telling sign of how far the studio is looking to distance itself from Snyder, a source says documentary filmmaker Leslie Iwerks recently asked to license clips from the 2021 Justice League for a film on the history of DC and was told there is only one Justice League: the 2017 incarnation.
Since the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max, there has been a push to Restore the Snyderverse, which demands that Warner Bros. allow the filmmaker to finish his full vision for the DCEU. The four-hour version of the narrative was undoubtedly better-received than its theatrical counterpart, and it did set up Justice League 2 through its post-credits scene. It's worth noting that while Batgirl featured Simmons' Gordon, it also has Michael Keaton's Batman and not Snyder's iteration played by Ben Affleck. Given this, it isn't exactly clear where the film lands in terms of canon. That being said, considering the burgeoning multiverse, Warner Bros. can acknowledge both Whedon and Snyder's Justice League as part of their storytelling.
In any case, perhaps the decision to only recognize Justice League's theatrical cut as the definitive version of the film stems from its attempt to shift away from HBO Max. According to reports, the studio will now focus on making films for theatrical release only. In fact, there are even claims that they are going as far as even axing scripted shows on the platform.
Source: Rolling Stone
