Warner Bros. is failing to capitalize on the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, despite the positive reception the movie has seen and growing calls for Snyder's planned story to be realized. The Snyder Cut has become a modern movie legend in the unprecedented circumstances of its release, arriving after a sustained push by fans for Snyder's original cut of Justice League to be released after the truncated and extensively reshot theatrical version died in theaters in 2017. Now that Snyder's movie has finally seen in the light of day, interest has also surged in where he planned to take things after Justice League in the remainder of the five-movie story he'd originally planned.
A collection of whiteboards recently displayed at an AT&T exhibit have provided an outline of Snyder's plans for Justice League 2 and Justice League 3. Though certain details have changed since they were originally written, and Snyder has stressed viewing them as an overall blueprint over the specific elements therein, both the whiteboards and the ending of the Snyder Cut itself have inspired considerable growing interest in Snyder's plans for the franchise being revived. Unfortunately, Warner Bros. has offered consistent signals that they do not intend to act on this.
Of course, that hasn't stopped fans who beat the drum for the Snyder Cut from continuing to call for Snyder's arc to be fulfilled with the new hashtag #RestoreTheSnyderVerse. What's more, they're not alone in their efforts, with a visibly growing mainstream interest in the SnyderVerse to continue, but Warner Bros. says there will be no more movies to continue this story. This isn't simply bound to create as much if not more of a headache for the studio than the Snyder Cut itself was, but Warner Bros. not building upon the excitement the movie has generated is beginning to set back the DCEU after the resurrection the Snyder Cut has afforded it.
The Snyder Cut Has Been Well Received
When Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice were first released, both became love-it or hate-it affairs among audiences. For every passionate fan the two found, there was also an unimpressed detractor. However, that not only changed when Zack Snyder's Justice League finally arrived but the widely positive reviews it's received and a simple social media search shows that the movie also won over many who hadn't held Snyder's DC films in high regard, quite a few even going as far as to re-appraise Man of Steel and Batman v Superman.
Had the Snyder Cut been subject to as divisivee a reception as its two predecessors, that would have all but ensured that the movie was destined to be, as it's reportedly been described as internally at Warner Bros., "a storytelling cul-de-sac." Instead, the exact opposite happened, with the Snyder Cut completely usurping its theatrical counterpart in the public consciousness. The ending also set up the potential for the movie's story to continue in multiple ways, and the numerous teases the Snyder Cut ended on haven't been lost on anyone who's seen it.
There's A Demand For More SnyderVerse
Since the Snyder Cut hit HBO Max domestically and other streaming services around the world, the hashtag #RestoreTheSnyderVerse has been impossible to miss on social media, even clearing 1.5 million tweets in a single day shortly after the Snyder Cut released. What makes the hashtag itself particularly worthy of consideration is it's now expanded well beyond just devoted Zack Snyder fans pushing it, with many more social media influencers and other movie fans tweeting it after seeing the movie. Celebrities have also shown support for the SnyderVerse to continue, including country music star Brad Paisley, while Leslie Jones' comedic commentary over the Snyder Cut made the rounds and then some.
Aside from restoring the SnyderVerse in the basic sense of finishing the five movie-arc he'd originally planned (which would essentially entail greenlighting Justice League 2 and Justice League 3), other ancillary SnyderVerse projects have also seen a renewed surge of support. #ReleaseTheAyerCut, in reference to David Ayer's original cut of Suicide Squad, has also only gained momentum since the Snyder Cut's debut, while similar interest has also been revived for Ben Affleck's discard Batman solo movie and the Deathstroke origin film to be realized. The latter two have been born out of a combination of the Snyder Cut's ending, which sees Lex Luthor hire Slade Wilson to take out Batman as the originally intended set up for Affleck's film, along with the major teases Joe Manganiello has dropped on the direction both projects were meant to take.
While a full picture of the movie's HBO Max performance is still not available yet, #RestoreTheSnyderVerse or other related hashtags have trended regularly since its release. Obviously, stars would have to align for a full restoration of the SnyderVerse to come to pass, including whether Ben Affleck, following his notoriously protracted DCEU departure, would have any interest in returning beyond his upcoming appearance in The Flash. In any case, the interest for more SnyderVerse movies to happen is clearly no longer held strictly by die-hard Snyder fans.
The Snyder Cut Has Re-Energized The DCEU (And Numerous Characters)
The contrast in the reception of the two versions of Justice League is a night and day comparison. Preceded by months of bad buzz of extensive reshoots and Ben Affleck's looming departure from the DCEU, Justice League bombed in its 2017 theatrical release, with the poor digital removal of Henry Cavill's mustache becoming a punchline and calls for the Snyder Cut swiftly emerging. As previously stated, the Snyder Cut has seen an infinitely more positive reception along with enthusiasm for more in the SnyderVerse, but another benefit it's brought is in how much its undone the damage wrought by the theatrical cut. Justice League's failure left the DCEU in ruins, with Ben Affleck eventually making his departure official, numerous projects falling into development hell or slowly fading away, and the overall plan for the franchise becoming vague at best. The Snyder Cut didn't just provide the DCEU with the exact surge of energy it was lacking after the theatrical cut's release, but it also rekindled public interest in numerous characters and the DCEU as a larger story instead of just a collection of unconnected movies.
Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke, while still only appearing in a cameo that's slightly expanded upon in the movie's Knightmare ending, has been re-invigorated in a big way, with Manganiello's comments on Affleck's Batman script and the Deathstroke origin movie inspiring significant interest in both. Ray Fisher's shortchanged Cyborg was restored to being "the heart of the movie", as Snyder has long positioned him as, with many fans eager to see where Cyborg's story was headed in Snyder's arc (and equally displeased with Fisher's removal from The Flash over his dispute with Warner Bros. on the investigation into the Justice League reshoots.) Henry Cavill's Superman has also gotten a new wave of adoration after the Snyder Cut, with both the direction he was to take in Snyder's arc and the prospect of he and Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam one day facing off exciting many fans. Additionally, Jared Leto's return as the Joker in the Knightmare has also generated excitement at the prospect of Batman reluctantly joining forces with him to undo the Knightmare timeline in Justice League 2. Along with the interest in other character's futures like Harry Lennix's Martian Manhunter and Wayne T. Carr's (removed) Green Lantern, none of that could have happened without the Snyder Cut being released, and all of it is a golden opportunity for Warner Bros. to harness the enthusiasm of the fanbase that pushed for the Snyder Cut for so long. Unfortunately, all of that seems to be falling on deaf ears at the studio level.
Warner Bros. Is Squandering The SnyderVerse Hype
Warner Bros. aforementioned cul-de-sac comment first emerged in early 2021, and signaled a lack of interest by the studio in continuing from where the Snyder Cut leaves off. Snyder himself had he didn't expect his involvement in the franchise to continue beyond the Snyder Cut, but the response since its release offers plenty for Warner Bros. to reconsider their stance. An interview with Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff in the wake of the movie's release would only further shoot down the perception of the studio moving ahead with subsequent SnyderVerse projects. Of course, that's done nothing to quell the ongoing push for it, and that shows that Warner Bros. is ignoring a property they could be reaping big rewards from.
To be sure, greenlighting Snyder's Justice League sequels or other adjacent SnyderVerse projects like Affleck's Batman movie is a much bigger ask than simply finishing up and releasing the Snyder Cut. With that being said, there's also an ongoing hype wave generated by the movie itself that WB could build upon. Furthermore, Snyder's arc having a definitive ending in place would only call upon a commitment of a few years, with there still being room for spin-offs like Affleck's Batman movie or the Ryan Choi-centered Atom movie Snyder has also spoken of. With DC movies and TV shows now all canonized as a Multiverse after the Arrowverse's Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover (which included an appearance by Ezra Miller's Flash), restoring the SnyderVerse also wouldn't step on the toes of Matt Reeves' The Batman or other in-development DC movies either. In essence, the demand for the SnyderVerse to continue is clear, and Warner Bros. has a window that would allow them to do so without undercutting their other DC movies.
As things currently stand, the Snyder Cut has planted the seeds for the rest of Zack Snyder's planned story to be finished, with growing numbers of viewers calling for it to happen and Warner Bros. remaining committed to their classification of the movie as a cul-de-sac. As the studio continues to try to get audiences on board with their alternative plans for the DCEU, the details of which they have so far not clearly articulated, the "what could have been" question of the SnyderVerse is bound to continue to hover over the franchise. Continuing to ignore the calls for the SnyderVerse's restoration is also likely to erode the goodwill the DCEU has regained. The reception to Zack Snyder's Justice League has given Warner Bros. a groundswell of excitement to capitalize on, and the studio is, unfortunately, letting it slip right through their fingers, though if the history of the Snyder Cut itself is any indication, that's certainly not likely to stop fans for calling for it to happen.
