Zack Snyder’s Justice League is getting the chance to come full circle with its release in 2021, celebrating not just Snyder's original vision, but the entirety of the old pre-Justice League DCEU. The journey began all the way back in 2013 when Snyder kicked off Warner Bros.’s first official cinematic universe with the DC brand starting with Man of Steel. While it took some time before plans started to emerge on what the first phase of DC films would be about, it was clear that the director had a larger vision in mind. Snyder has been open about having a 5-arc plan that started in Man of Steel and would continue into a Justice League franchise.
But when Warner Bros. and Joss Whedon overhauled his third DC film, it resulted in the critical disaster that was the 2017 theatrical cut. This wasn’t the first time that Warner Bros. had gotten in the way for Snyder as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was affected by similar interference in its 30 minute shorter theatrical cut. As the 2017 version of Justice League helped create the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement, fans campaigned for years to get Snyder’s official version of the film released in some format. The pay-off came earlier this year when the director revealed that the Snyder Cut would be released on HBO Max at some point in 2021.
Snyder is currently in the middle of additional photography, which recently generated headlines as it was announced that Jared Leto’s Joker is taking part in the film. The last time fans saw him in the DCEU was in Suicide Squad back in 2016 that, like the Snyder Cut, was also heavily changed because of Warner Bros. interference. A similar campaign has come to life in the form of #ReleaseTheAyerCut which was a key part in the original plans for the DCEU.
But with Leto now getting to reprise his take on the iconic Batman foe, the Snyder Cut of Justice League is becoming the ultimate payoff for the DCEU. This is no longer just something that honors Snyder’s original plan for the team-based film, but the entire shared universe as a whole. While Joker’s part in the film has yet to be revealed nor has it been specified how much he’ll be in it, Leto’s participation carries more weight than meets the eye. Despite Warner Bros.'s hesitations in the last few years, the vision that the DCEU wanted to go for originally is getting to see the light of day.
2021 will be an interesting year for the DCEU as the Snyder Cut makes its way to HBO Max and is seen by the world at last. While the DC films have taken a new direction after 2017, it does seem like there is room for the shared universe's initial concept. With Snyder's official Justice League settings its spotlight, perhaps it won't be long until Ayer's Suicide Squad cut gets an opportunity to be seen too. While it'll be exciting to see the director's long-waited vision of the Justice League, it'll be even more interesting to see its effect on the DCEU going forward.