Justice League: Why Zack Snyder Isn't Calling His Version The Snyder Cut

Why has Zack Snyder taken to referring to his unseen version of Justice League as "Zack Snyder's Justice League" rather than the Snyder Cut? The latter has been the well-known shorthand of Snyder's original version of the DC team-up film for the past two years, popularized by the ubiquitous hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, which has even been utilized by Justice League cast members supporting its release. However, despite having become an instantly recognizable term in the discussion surrounding Justice League, Snyder himself has begun pushing a different title.

Specifically, Snyder's re-dubbing of the film would become more or less official with his release of a new Justice League T-shirt and hoodie through Ink to the People. Included on the design are the emblems of the six core heroes of the Justice League as seen in the movie, along with those of Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter. Additionally, the design also positions the title as Zack Snyder's Justice League, with Snyder's name displayed above the Justice League emblem on the front of the shirt.

Snyder's decision to position his movie in this way has more significance than meets the eye, especially from a marketing perspective. Aside from not utilizing the very term that has been the rallying cry of the Snyder Cut campaign for over two years now, the new title also affords numerous advantages to both Snyder and Warner Bros. in marketing the movie to the public, should the latter greenlight it for release. Below are the most likely reasons why Zack Snyder has dubbed his never-before-seen superhero ensemble Zack Snyder's Justice League.

The Title Differentiates It From New DCEU

A major issue Warner Bros. has faced with the DCEU lies in the studio's reluctance to fully stand behind the franchise as being driven by the vision of Zack Snyder. This would be further complicated by the pressure for the DCEU to represent a competitor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an aim that stood at odds with Snyder's plan of an overarching five-part story that was to include such elements as the death of Batman. However, the title of Zack Snyder's Justice League provides a major remedy to all of that.

First and foremost, it clearly and unmistakably positions the movie as the work of Snyder, while creating a distinction between it and the current wave of DCEU movies. Additionally, it also allows the franchise to sidestep any gaps in continuity that might arise out of its release, which can also be further explained away by Ezra Miller's cameo on the CW's Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover. Miller's cameo has effectively opened the DCEU up to the concept of the Multiverse (with the crossover itself also essentially nullifying the entire notion of reboots within DC's film and television catalog), and gives a perfect window to explain any inconsistencies that could hypothetically develop between Snyder's movie and the most recent DCEU films.

It Positions It As More Than An Alternate Cut

The Justice League Snyder Cut is a vastly different specimen than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That movie arrived in theaters shorn of a half hour's worth of footage that was later restored in the movie's Ultimate Edition. By contrast, the alterations made to Justice League had an infinitely greater impact on the final product, to the point at which one could consider the theatrical version and the Snyder Cut as, for all intents and purposes, two completely different movies: a point that has also been confirmed by Jason Momoa.

With that mind, Zack Snyder's Justice League is a much more marketing-friendly term than the Snyder Cut. While the latter sets the movie up to be seen as an alternate cut of the version that debuted in theaters, Zack Snyder's Justice League establishes his clear seal of approval that it is indeed his movie. What's more, it also severs any perceived bond Snyder's film holds with the theatrical cut, allowing the movie to be released not as "the other version of Justice League", but now being seen in the public eye as "the new Justice League movie directed by Zack Snyder".

It Gives Warner Bros. An Easy Out

Of course, the biggest challenge in Snyder's film seeing the light of day has always been in getting the approval for its release from Warner Bros. With the movie's last minute reshoots having resulted in no shortage of mockery for the removal of Henry's Cavill's mustache (including from Cavill himself), the studio's reluctance to revisit the movie's revamping and overall botched handling has frequently been cited as an insurmountable obstacle for the Snyder Cut's release. However, that's a different matter entirely for Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Snyder's new title positions the film as an altogether new movie, and in doing so, immediately removes the barrier of Warner Bros. having to revisit the failed attempt to hastily remake a movie that studio executives are alleged to have dubbed "unwatchable". With Zack Snyder's Justice League, the studio is now in the position for a completely fresh start on marketing Justice League to the public. As a result of Snyder's re-branding of the film, the situation immediately shifts from releasing the original cut of a movie more than two years removed from its theatrical debut, to Warner Bros. debuting a new and completely different Justice League movie, one which requires no attempt at saving face, and which could even have further scenes added to it, as Snyder has recently teased.

Although the Snyder Cut term has become synonymous with Justice League as it had originally been filmed and assembled by Snyder, his new re-branding of the movie as Zack Snyder's Justice League presents a far more advantageous strategy for releasing it. The new title clearly presents it as Snyder's movie, while allowing it to be released without overriding the most recent DCEU movies, and positioning it as its own entity separate from the theatrical version. Most importantly, the new title coined by Snyder allows Warner Bros. to release it in a way that doesn't re-open old wounds while maximizing the bottom line by presenting it not as an alternate cut of a previously released film, but as an entirely new Justice League movie.

NEXT: Zack Snyder's Justice League Reshoots Could Revert To Pre-BvS Plan