Warner Bros. initially suggested Zack Snyder release his Justice League as an unfinished cut. Snyder was poised to make his ideal Justice League when the film first entered production years ago, but when he stepped away from the project midway through, things took a different turn. Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to complete the film, and Whedon made numerous changes to Snyder's original plans. As a result, the theatrical cut of Justice League was a far cry from what fans had been expecting. A campaign for the release of Snyder's version soon emerged and, as many know by now, eventually got Warner Bros. to acquiesce.
Now, the famed Snyder Cut of Justice League is just over a month away from its HBO Max release. As Snyder completes the 4-hour cut, he's provided fans with numerous teases about what to expect, from images to footage. This past Sunday brought the latest Justice League trailer, which featured some of the new footage that was shot last fall. Snyder headed up some reshoots to help complete the film and add in Jared Leto's Joker, a fresh addition that has quickly become one of the biggest talking points. However, there was a time when the reshoots weren't quite on the table.
In a new interview with LightCast podcast, Justice League producer Deborah Snyder spoke about the early discussions with Warner Bros. about this special release. When the studio first approached Snyder about debuting his cut of the film, they suggested he release it as it was then: Unfinished. "When they approached us we had to come up with an idea of what it was because originally [the studio was] like, 'You can just put the cut [out] just the way it is,'" Deborah Snyder said. Naturally, Snyder objected to this. "Zack's like, 'No.' It's like a mish-mosh. The music we can't use. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it the right way, or it's not going to be the right way,'" she said. In regards to convincing WB, that took some work. Deborah added:
"But to figure out in secret, because we didn't know if it was going to be real. But just to figure out the costs of the visual effects, and we were doing this kind of on our own, so we could put together a presentation that we could go to the studio with and a big part of the presentation was the fans and what that represented to them. I wish it had taken them less time because then we wouldn't be so under the gun to get it done, it still took them months to kind of figure it out.”
It makes sense that Snyder, now that he's been granted this opportunity, would want to see it done properly. He had big plans for Justice League and beyond, and it wouldn't be fair to give something as anticipated as the Snyder Cut an unfinished release. Luckily, in fighting for it, Snyder received the opportunity to complete the film as he wanted to. Hopefully, it helped him find some closure.
This incident also shows how much Warner Bros. misunderstood the Snyder Cut. Over the years, it has evolved into something more than a standard unfinished director's cut. Fans want to see a completed product, not whatever Snyder had managed to put together before leaving. By suggesting he release Justice League as it was, it sounds like Warner Bros. didn't realize how important it was to the fans. Luckily, however, they probably see differently now. While that might not translate to a Justice League 2, it at least gives one hope Warner Bros. will treat this release with the enthusiasm it deserves.
Source: LightCast Podcast
