Zack Snyder's Justice League is officially getting a black and white release on HBO Max. After years of fan anticipation, the Snyder Cut is finally a reality, and so far the overall reaction has been good among fans and critics, noting a marked improvement over the 2017 theatrical film. Zack Snyder isn't done retooling the film, though, and a third cut of the movie is on the way, similar to how he released Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut after Watchmen: The Director's Cut.
During the promotional cycle for Zack Snyder's Justice League, Snyder himself would release promotional images in black and white. When it was time to release posters for the film, to contrast with the high colors of the theatrical cut, the Snyder Cut used black and white character posters to keep the somber tone Snyder had established in Man of Steel and Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Even the first look fans saw at the new interpretation for Jared Leto's Joker was in black and white. Now, Snyder is set to release the whole movie in black and white.
Zack Snyder took to Twitter to officially confirm that a black and white cut of Zack Snyder's Justice League would be coming to HBO Max. The project is titled Zack Snyder's Justice League: Justice is Gray. No date was given other than the project would be coming soon and would be released in addition to the current cut the streaming service has already released. Along with the announcement, a clip from the movie featuring Ben Affleck's Batman and Jeremy Irons' Alfred was also released. Check it out, below:
Snyder has previously hinted that the black and white cut of Justice League would be different from the current release on HBO Max aside from just a monochrome finish. He revealed that it would contain an alternate scene of Jared Leto's Joker. Zack Snyder has also stated that the combination of the black and white with the 4:3 aspect ratio is his favorite version of the film and his ideal way of viewing it, making the Justice is Gray edition the definitive cut of his movie.
Black and white recuts of blockbuster films have become more commonplace. In 2016, George Miller released a black and white cut of Mad Max: Fury Road titled Mad Max: Blood and Chrome. In 2017, with the home video release of Logan, James Mangold released a black and white version of that film titled Logan: Noir. Snyder himself saw Justice League in black and white for two years on his laptop, so it makes a certain amount of sense he would want the fans to see the film as he has. And now, for those who want to see Zack Snyder's Justice League the way the director himself envisioned it, it will be in black and white and released on HBO Max soon.
Source: Zack Snyder/Twitter