In a recent interview with Beyond The Trailer, director Zack Snyder revealed that his upcoming cut of Justice League will be over three and a half hours long. Specifically, the filmmaker said that his personalized version of the superhero crossover will be at least 214 minutes in length.
“I have famously teased the runtime at… 214 minutes… Now in its current state, it’s going to end up being longer than that yet. So exciting to be bringing all this new material to the fans – they get to see all these crazy and awesome new sequences, and I think that’s going to be really exciting for everyone.”
Released in 2017, Justice League saw the first instance that DC Comics’ biggest heroes – including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman and the Flash – appeared together on-screen. During the film, they had to take on the galactic threat that was Steppenwolf, while trying to stick together and work as a team.
Despite its bombastic premise, the film divided critics and audiences alike. For the most part, it was slammed for its underdeveloped plot, poor characterization and wonky editing. In the time that followed, hardcore DC fans took solace in the idea that a great movie resided somewhere inside the editing room, and that Snyder only had to revisit and rearrange his footage in order to produce it.
After almost two years later, those fans finally got their wish. Earlier this spring, HBO Max announced that the Snyder Cut was currently in development, and that it would air on their streaming service at some point in 2021. Since the initial announcement was made, Snyder has said that the cut will not only feature new scenes but also introduce new characters and even sport some updated special effects.
Snyder, who’s been the godfather of the DCEU since he directed Man of Steel, was forced to leave Justice League midway through post-production following the unexpected suicide of his teenage daughter, Autumn. The departure of the director – known for his unique, cinematic style – is widely believed to have stunted the editing process, resulting in the disappointing film audiences got to see in 2017.