You may not have noticed that film history was made over the weekend: Zack Snyder’s four-hour Justice League was released exclusively on HBO Max. There will be documentaries made about this movie being willed into being, and all will have Justice cleverly worked into the title. The bizarre and fascinating sausage-making it boils down to this: a director left a film, that film was heavily reshot by another director, and within the span of a few short years, the original director returned to the project to restore his “original vision.” That’s weird. What’s funnier is that such an unprecedented move isn’t the result of a high-minded, abstract battle for artistic integrity. This isn’t Orson Welles losing control of editing The Magnificent Ambersons to RKO Pictures in 1942. This is a movie about super-powered cartoons punching CGI aliens away from three galactic mother boxes. It reminds me how COVID-19 led Universal to announce they were releasing Trolls World Tour directly to streaming, causing a near war between movie studios and theater chains that might have dramatically changed the landscape of how movies are released—all because of Trolls World Tour.
How did we get here? The man at the heart of this journey is filmmaker Zack Snyder. With his trademark painterly images and grandiose style (arguably at the expense of plot and character coherence) Snyder first reached commercial success in 2006 with his CGI macho extravaganza, 300. Roughly a decade ago, Snyder was hired by Warner Brothers to reboot Superman for the modern era. Snyder’s Superman film, Man of Steel, was moderately successful. Warner Brothers, in response to the smash success Disney and Marvel had with The Avengers just one year prior—assembling a team of brightly-colored superheroes to the tune of $1.5 billion with a B—were eager to assemble their own stable of superheroes. In their scramble to catch up with Marvel, they greenlit a sequel to Man of Steel that would also introduce several DC characters. The sequel was the bloated, dour, and clunkily-titled Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Yes, that is “v” and not “vs.”; please see court-related puns at the film’s expense circa 2015. (Also this wonderful Uproxx article where senior writer Mike Ryan tries to locate anyone named Dawn in any city named Justice to see if they’re excited for Dawn of Justice.)
This sequel saw Ben Affleck take on the role of an older, battle-worn Batman, and Affleck’s strong performance couldn’t save an otherwise critically-reviled movie. The poor reception led to more than a series of great Sadfleck memes; it spooked Warner Brothers, who were being financially and critically overshadowed by Marvel. Batman v Superman was released the same year as Captain America: Civil War. One film featured Iron Man and Captain America, recent B-list characters, and raked in over $1.2 billion (again with a B). The other featured three of the most well-known and widely-beloved comic book characters for decades—Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—uniting them onscreen for the first time ever…and it couldn’t crack $900 million. (Also, the plots of both films focused on superhero infighting and the key to both finales were the relationships of said heroes to their mothers. Huh.) At the time of the film’s release, Snyder was in the middle of shooting Justice League, due out the following year. In a mixture of events, including Warner Brother’s insistence on more oversight and Snyder needing to prioritize his family while dealing with a heartbreaking tragedy, Snyder left the project in early 2017. Warner Brothers, who had brought on Avengers director Joss Whedon to punch up the dialog in Justice League, then asked Whedon to step into the role of director and complete the film. It seemed like a smart move at the time, but we have some perspective now. Whedon has since come under serious fire, not only with accusations from Justice League cast members of abusive behavior on set, but cast members of Whedon’s TV creations, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, coming forward to detail Whedon’s inappropriate behavior. Whedon allegedly reshot 90% of the Justice League film, and the movie was released to a whimper in November 2017. (To add insult to injury, it also grossed $100 million less than Marvel’s superb Thor: Ragnarok, released the same month.)
Another bizarre detail of the Whedon reshoots is the upper lip of Henry Cavill’s Superman. For the uninitiated in Mustachegate, Cavill had wrapped shooting on Justice League and was now filming Paramount’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout when asked to come back for reshoots. He had grown a glorious mustache for Fallout and was contractually unable to shave it until filming was over. In a hilarious pissing match between two studios, Paramount refused Warner Brother’s negotiations to let Cavill shave it during the Justice League reshoots. Warner Brothers even offered to pay millions to digitally add Cavill’s mustache back for the remainder of Fallout (a much easier technical process than what ended up happening). Paramount refused. So, Warner Brothers were forced to film Cavill, in full Superman garb and prominent mustache, and digitally remove that same mustache for every new scene shot. Given the tight time frame before the film’s release, the VFX artists did their best, but the result was a horrendous, distracting descent into the uncanny valley. Again, this all actually happened.
Fans of Snyder’s world were upset with the 2017 release and started a slow underground swell to release a “Snyder Cut.” Studio insiders argued no such cut existed, and if it did, would be completely unfinished and unwatchable. Nevertheless, the #ReleasetheSnyderCut movement grew, expanding to Justice League cast members retweeting the hashtag. In a shocking move, Warner Brothers announced in May 2020 that they had brought on Zack Snyder to complete his version of Justice League, and were putting some serious money behind the effort (allegedly $70 million).
It’s never happened before. Probably the closest example I can think of is, ironically, Warner Brothers’ own Superman II. In the late 1970s, Warner Brothers hired Richard Donner (The Goonies, Lethal Weapon) to direct two Superman films back-to-back. The first film, with the late Christopher Reeve iconically wearing the cape, was a massive cultural, critical, and commercial success. An issue with the films’ producers, Alexander and Ilya Salkind, led to serious bad blood between the producing duo and Donner. Donner eventually left the project with reportedly 30%-50% of filming left on Superman II. Donner’s departure ruffled much of the cast and crew, and Gene Hackman, who played Lex Luthor, declined to return for any more filming, requiring body doubles to be used to finish his scenes. I know I’m digressing, but this tidbit is one of the funniest film details I’ve ever read:
“By early 1979, the search for a new director had begun, and the Salkinds approached Guy Hamilton, helmer of several Bond films including Goldfinger (1964) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). Hamilton, it’s worth noting, was the original choice to direct both Superman films back in 1975, when the production was gearing up to shoot in Rome. However, owing to an outstanding obscenity lawsuit against Marlon Brando and those involved in The Last Tango in Paris (1972), Brando was unable to shoot in Italy, and the production moved to England in late 1976. Hamilton, being an English tax exile, was only allowed in the country for 30 days a year, and so the job soon fell to Donner.” —Collider’s breakdown of the behind-the-scenes drama
Superman II was still successful, but less so. It wasn’t until 2006, twenty-five years later, that Warner Brothers and Richard Donner were able to collaborate and release a “Donner Cut” of Superman II. Even then, in some cases they had to supplement unfilmed parts of Donner’s script with screen tests between Reeve and Margot Kidder (Lois Lane). With Snyder’s Justice League, it didn’t take decades or unfinished material; it took a handful of years and millions of dollars to bring his revised film to fruition.
And after all that effort, this film is…kind of whatever. All this context makes the film difficult to judge on its own merits without comparing it to the watered down Josstice League, as angry Snyder fans would dub it. (Without question, Snyder’s version is better.) And in some ways, it’s not exactly a movie. It more resembles a miniseries, divided into seven chapters, but it’s not structured like individual episodes with individual story arcs. It’s a rough cut of a film, when a director assembles the footage they’ve captured and then embarks on the process of editing the content into a properly-paced feature. The Snyder Cut is formless—and long. It ultimately doesn’t fix many of the issues with the Whedon version. It’s still centered around a generic and uninteresting villain in a MacGuffin quest. The characters, with a few exceptions, feel shallow, like they exist to only give exposition to move the plot forward. For all its length, it’s missing needed character moments and growth, one of the few reasons to justify such an expanded runtime. We understand what the heroes and villains are doing better than in the original version, but we still don’t know why, or why we should care. The character that works the most is Ray Fisher’s half-humanoid Cyborg, and the time and attention devoted to him and his arc is even more striking comparing it to the uncommitted, dramatically-reduced role he played in the 2017 version.
The elements that do work are those already revered by Snyder loyalists. The film is unquestionably his. This may sound like a backhanded compliment, but Snyder’s wild swings, even when they completely miss their mark, are still much more interesting and worthwhile than many other diluted, made-by-committee blockbusters we’re subjected to. It’s all of Snyder’s impulses on display, for better or for worse. It’s a visual spectacle, oftentimes very beautiful, but these larger-than-life characters are too devoid of believable human behavior and interactions. This wouldn’t be so distracting if the movie weren’t so self-serious, another feature of Snyder’s directorial style. It’s not as detrimentally grim as Batman v Superman, but it needs more levity and self-awareness if we’re expected to not snicker at the sillier elements of the plot. Compounding this, it’s also R-rated for some minor inclusions of blood and language, but those inclusions don’t add any gravitas or sobriety. It feels like they asked a focus group of 14-year-olds what would make the movie more badass. With multiple comic-based films releasing every year, there is room (and demand) for more nuanced, mature, morally-gray takes on source material; it’s just that Snyder, and his extreme sensibilities, isn’t the best suited to thread that needle.
The film is more of an editing exercise than anything else. It may be better suited in a film class than as a piece of popcorn entertainment for mass audiences. I was curious what parts of the 2017 release were originally Snyder’s and what were Whedon’s additions, especially since Snyder fans disparage the jarring tone and forced jokes of that Whedon cut (fair criticisms of that version). I found myself muttering, “Hm, interesting,” more than actually feeling any kind of emotion or investment in what I was watching. It did seem to answer a lingering question I’d had about Ben Affleck’s performance. Many scoffed at his casting, but he is genuinely good as both Bruce Wayne and Batman in Batman v Superman, in spite of that film not working. However, his performance is muted, bored, and checked out in the 2017 Justice League. I was curious if the negative reviews of Batman v Superman and having to reshoot the majority of this movie with Whedon led to a deflated performance from a man desperately looking for a way off this train. I will report that his performance in the Snyder Cut is much better, more energetic and engaged. Was it worth four hours to discover that answer? Only my therapist can say.
What will come from Zack Snyder’s Justice League? Will this usher in a new age of fidelity and deference to writers and directors over studio meddling? I don’t think so, if only because movie studios are never sure which lessons to learn from any successful endeavor. Will this start a new and annoying trend of any spurned fan base claiming ownership of a movie and demanding their version be released? It definitely will. (Let’s not forget the hilariously naive petition to have true fans collectively rewrite and refilm Star Wars: The Last Jedi.) I doubt studios will give in the way they have with this project. Zack Snyder’s Justice League is likely a one off, a perfect storm of bizarre circumstances. It helps that Snyder left the project on good terms with the studio and refused payment in return for complete creative control. It also helps that it’s a smart PR move for Warner Brothers to welcome Snyder back; there is general goodwill towards Snyder as a person, and an ever-growing cultural rejection of Joss Whedon on those same merits. But crucially, Warner Brothers needed to kick off their new streaming service, HBO Max, with something wholly original and unique to compete in the oversaturated streaming market. It’s unlikely the stars will align for another misbegotten film the way it has for Snyder and his team of heroes. Regardless, I tip my hat to all you Snyderheads out there. This is an experience built and delivered entirely and specifically to you. So take your victory lap. You earned it by essentially willing this film into existence. Now put your powers to good use and get us a third Nicolas Cage National Treasure.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is available to stream on HBO Max. It runs 242 minutes and is rated R for violence and some language.
