By Nick Maylor
It’s the announcement many fans have been longing to hear.
The #ReleaseTheSnyderCut crowd rejoiced today when it was announced that the streaming service HBO Max would be the official platform to release the director’s cut of Justice League (2017).
The 2017 film was in post-production when a personal tragedy moved director Zack Snyder to leave the production. Joss Whedon (who was in talks with Warner Brothers to direct a Bat-Girl feature) was recruited to finish Justice League in Snyder’s stead. Whedon was involved with reshoots and received a screenwriting credit on the 2017 film.
The Justice League film we were given was an insulting two-hour romp that clearly altered much of what Snyder’s original intentions were. Moreover, they hired the very talented Joss Whedon to do nothing more than drag this doomed production no one at Warner Brothers had any faith in, across the finish line.
The film’s colour palate was changed. The film’s score was rewritten. Who knows what else was changed making this film? It abandoned Snyder’s vision. It was not Joss Whedon’s vision for a Justice League film either. He was brought it to patch it up, stitch it together and ship it out to meet the deadline.
The most insulting thing about Justice League is the two-hour runtime.
Really? Only two hours? There was no way this film could have a proper story told with all of the characters involved in that time. That was a studio demand…
A stupid one.
However, it has now been announced that Zack Snyder’s vision will officially see the light of day on HBO Max. Months of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut trending on social media clearly showed the high consumer demand for a proper version of this long-awaited film.
We should expect a much longer watch as it has not been revealed what the runtime will be or if the film will be showed in multiple parts. However, this is a good thing.
As I’ve mentioned time and again, Snyder has dealt with this sort of thing before when it comes to the studios demanding he cut time from his projects. He’s also a damned fine filmmaker when he wants to be.
Rejoice. We might get something magnificent out of this.
#BatFleckForever
Nick is an actor/writer/comedian/musician from Hamilton, ON Canada. Having been a film nut since the early days of his life, Nick has had an obsession with cinema and popular entertainment. Nick has written for thecinemaholic.com and is the current Foote & Friends “expert” on all things geek/superhero/comic-book related. Nick is the host/producer of the official Foote & Friends On Film podcast. Nick met John when studying acting at the Toronto Film School, for which John H. Foote was director and Film History professor. The two have been arguing ever since.
Follow Nick on Twitter @NickMaylor
