It sometimes felt like we would never get here, but after three years, countless campaigns and interminable indignant demands, the Snyder Cut of Justice League is finally going to be released. Not that there was going to be much doubt in the matter, but Zack Snyder himself has confirmed it will be a completely different beast from the disappointment we saw in cinemas.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he had this to say:
“It will be an entirely new thing, and, especially talking to those who have seen the released movie, a new experience apart from that movie. You probably saw one-fourth of what I did.”
Although Snyder hasn’t ever watched the theatrical cut, his assertion is based on what people have told him of the release’s content. Regardless, the frequent snippets he has teased fans with suggest a wealth of material left unseen by audiences that hints at events, scenes and subplots that were excised entirely, with their restoration doubtless resulting in something original.
Other issues that will presumably be addressed include the bloated cast given more room to have a purpose in the sprawling story, including defying comic book movies’ infamous villain problem by giving greater characterization to Steppenwolf, as well as actually including Darkseid. There’s still the fundamental issue of the Flash and Cyborg not being previously introduced in their own movies, along with most general audiences being unfamiliar with who the latter even is, so they’ll hopefully get better introductions.
What form the project will ultimately take is currently unclear and unlikely to have been decided as the details are most likely still being worked out, specifically whether it will be released as a single lengthy feature or a chaptered miniseries, but either way, the greatly increased running time will provide more room to work with.
This is obviously an unusual situation and were it not for the current popularity of streaming platforms it would probably never have come about. It’ll be a long wait, but given how long this has been dragging out for, Snyder’s original vision of Justice League brought to life will be satisfying to see, and hopefully the final word on the whole sorry mess.