You may have heard of a little something called the Snyder Cut. Y’know, Zach Snyder’s redux of 2017’s Justice League. Well it’s been a few weeks since Warner Bros. and DC dropped it on HBOMax, so let’s have a quick chat about, shall we?
And how it was kind of cheating.
This isn’t a review or a criticism. Most people had made up their minds one way or another regarding Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League well before it saw the streaming light of day. For every person that pre-ordered the deluxe DVD/Bku-Ray/4K home release before seeing a single second of Snyder’s vision, there’s someone who decided it was a waste of time without ever giving it a chance.
And there’s been plenty of fallout after Warner Bros. released Snyder’s version of Justice League on HBO Max last month. Twitter was practically all Justice League hours after it was released, with fans demanding WB resurrect the rest of Snyder’s vision for the DC cinematic universe. The Release The Snyder Cut hashtag quickly morphed into Restore The Snyderverse and the social media campaign has spread to every platform, increasing in volume every day.
Some militant Snyder fans even review bombed Godzilla Vs. Kong to punish Warner for very publicly closing Snyder’s chapter in the DCEU’s troubled history.
(Take whatever Warner Bros. says with a boulder of salt though. Remember they spent years denying the Snyder Cut even existed, sometimes comparing fans demands to see it to pipe dreams. And yet here we are . . . )
And you can be sure that the response to the Snyder Cut coupled with recent allegations spells the end to Joss Whedon’s Hollywood career.
But having said all . . .
Let’s make one thing clear right off the bat. The Snyder Cut that came out a few weeks ago was not the original vision Zack Snyder intended for theatres in 2017. There is no way anyone-Warner Bros, the theatres or Snyder himself-were going to release a four hour super hero movie on the big screen. Sure, they could have cut Justice League in half and released it in two parts, but what we saw wasn’t a movie built to be told with a To Be Continued smack dab in the middle (the way that Avengers Infinity War/Endgame was).
And let’s be honest, the DCEU just didn’t have the kind of good will from anyone necessary to make something like that work (Marvel spent a decade and twenty movies building that kind of audience credibility).
Snyder tailored his cut knowing he had carte blanche regarding run time and that it was going to be seen on a streaming service in the comfort of everyone’s home (with a bathroom close at hand). Whether or not you liked it or thought it was better than the Snyder/Whedon hybrid that bombed in theatres, let’s just dispense with the idea that this was the “original, unadulterated vision.”
And that’s kind of the point. Because isn’t the Snyder Cut kind of cheating? While there’s no doubt he planned on going in a different creative direction than what we saw in 2017 and he had ambitions for the DC universe beyond the first Justice League movie, how much of what was included in the Snyder Cut was really part of his initial creative blueprints?
Snyder essentially had three years to fine tune his vision. He had three years to read message boards and reviews and absorb what worked and what didn’t about the 2017 theatrical release. He had three years to plot out the best course for his story while digesting what people did and didn’t like about the original. He had the benefit of three years of hindsight, allowing him to custom make his version armed with a tonne of fan and critical feedback.
It’s like retaking a test after you saw all the answers.
Or more accurately, the 2017 version was the rough draft of that all important, final grade determining term paper while the Snyder Cut was the final copy he got to write after the professor’s corrections, edits and notes.
What film maker wouldn’t kill to have that opportunity? Who wouldn’t want another crack at polishing their vision three plus years after it’s release? Any director, producer or screen writer who tells you they wouldn’t jump at the chance to dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s armed with years of audience feedback is lying to your face.
Then again, not every film maker had to deal with what Snyder did. While this isn’t a critique, it isn’t a condemnation either. In the grand scheme of Hollywood, the fact Snyder got a chance to complete the movie he wanted after an unimaginable family tragedy was a rare win. No matter what anyone says or thinks about the Snyder Cut, it was one of Hollywood’s happy endings.
But let’s also not kid ourselves into thinking that his four hour super hero marathon was what he intended to release in the fall of 2017. Not only did Snyder have hours of unused footage to use, but he shot some brand new footage-specifically for his new vision-using the big cheque Warner Bros. wrote him to complete his version.
Instead of thinking of the Snyder Cut as the “original intended version”, consider it a revised and improved version of the original. Justice League 2.0, if you will. The movie version of a new Windows operating system, after a hundred patches of course.
The Snyder Cut is going to be a part of our lives for a while. The fans demanding that his version of the DCEU be restored aren’t going anywhere (and after their persistence and patience was rewarded with the Snyder Cut’s release, why would they?). And Godzilla Vs. Kong probably won’t be the last Warner movie some of them vent their fury on.
Don’t feel too sorry for Warner Bros though. They will milk the Snyder Cut for every penny they can. There’s already a “Gray” version available on HBO Max and don’t be surprised to see them go all Star Wars on the home release. Expect to see lots of deluxe collector sets aimed at Snyder’s legion of devoted fans over the next few years, some with minuscule or mere cosmetic changes (“check out this new edition-complete with 17 seconds of extra footage and three brand new sentences of producer commentary!”)
Expect Snyder Cut actions figures just in time for Christmas.
The Snyder Cut may have also opened the door to a new trend. David Ayer has been beating the director’s cut drum about his 2016 Suicide Squad, telling everyone who will listen that he has a cut of free of “studio interference.” Some Stars Wars fans have convinced themselves there’s a “JJ cut” of The Rise of Skywalker and Margot Robbie revealed that Quentin Tarantino may have 20 additional hours of unused footage for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
While director cuts have always been a thing, the success of the Snyder Cut may wind up launching a new Hollywood gravy train at warp speed.
But love it or hate, let’s not delude ourselves that the Snyder Cut is what we would have seen in 2017 if Snyder hadn’t stepped back because of tragedy. Let’s not ignore that he had a lot going for him to complete his vision, especially the years of audience suggestions and criticism. If you consider it a masterpiece, by all means enjoy. Just remember, he painted it with tools he didn’t have in 2017 to show in a museum that hadn’t been built yet.
Let’s not confuse opportunity with genius.
Image via www.youtube.com
