Justice League is now out and, unsurprisingly, it’s splitting people right down the middle. Many fans love it, but critics are giving the film a pounding. Everyone, however, is intrigued to know how it was changed from its original cut.
In case you’ve missed all the behind the scenes upheaval, Zack Snyder had to hand the keys of the movie over to Joss Whedon due to a family tragedy, meaning the reshoots changed Justice League in some major ways. We’re told that only 15-20% of the final cut is Whedon’s, but we suspect this might be underselling it somewhat.
Thanks to some new info from the surprisingly reliable DCEULeaks subreddit, we now have a rundown of the major changes that Whedon made to Snyder’s initial cut, as well as the scenes of his that remained intact. The list is very comprehensive, so we urge you to view the full thing via the link below. We have picked out a few of the main points of interest, though, and they’re as follows:
- Despite those rumours that Whedon was adding in more Wonder Woman scenes, Diana’s big action scene set in London was always part of Snyder’s vision.
- Flash was given more superheroing to do in Whedon’s version. e.g. saving those kidnapped by Steppenwolf and rescuring the Russian family during the climax.
- Nearly everything to do with Superman was all Whedon except for a few pieces here and there (mostly action moments). Many have pointed this out already, due to how obvious Henry Cavill’s CGI top lip is.
- Darkseid featured in early versions of the movie, during the flashback to the ancient war and in a storyboarded sequence where the Trinity look up the boomtube that takes Steppenwolf away from Earth.
- As for the post-credits scenes, the first – Supes and Flash’s race – is Whedon while the Injustice League tease with Lex and Deathstroke is Snyder.
The post also reveals some other interesting tidbits about the production. Namely, that Aquaman director James Wan had a hand in the scene between Arthur and Mera (which was cut completely at one stage), while scenes in the Batcave and on the Flying Fox mostly feature Gal Gadot’s body double, as the actress was busy on the Wonder Woman promotional tour during filming.
So, will some of these deleted scenes ever come to light? Zack Snyder fans have already begun a petition to get a director’s cut of Justice League released at some point, and while this insider is hesitant to confirm whether such a thing will see the light of day, he estimates that there’s enough material for an additional 10-20 minutes. A lot more was filmed, of course, but most of the excess footage is of alternate scenes which can’t simply be slotted back in.
Tell us, do you like the sound of Snyder’s original cut? Or did Whedon change Justice League for the better? Have your say in the comments section down below!