ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE: Between The Donner Cut and LOTR Extended Editions
WBThat Zack Snyder’s Justice League exists and is available to watch as a standalone feature is nothing short of a miracle. It has taken years of fan persistence (at times reaching an unhealthy intensity) and it wouldn’t be wrong to note that many stars had to align for this to happen, i.e. it might be one of the very few projects whose circumstances have been aided, not hindered, by the ongoing pandemic and widespread cinema closures. What is even more interesting about it is that it is a truly unique specimen in the grand context of cinema history. Or is it?
The most immediate historical comparison one could draw to Zack Snyder’s Justice League involves the infamous ‘Donner Cut’ of Superman II. In fact, the fate of these two projects carries a lot of parallels. Richard Donner was famously fired from the production of that film following a string of budgetary misunderstandings and creative differences he had with the producers, and it didn’t matter the project was mostly finished at the time. Apparently, the straw that broke the camel’s back was the studio’s insistence on excising Marlon Brando’s role from the film because they weren’t happy with his financial demands. Naturally, this went against Donner’s vision who dug his heels in and suggested he would do the movie his way or not at all. One thing led to another and Richard Lester ended up in the driver’s seat; however, since he wasn’t at home with Donner’s epic and serious scale, he effectively reshot and recalibrated the entire film, which earned him the official directorial credit as well.
This should hopefully seem familiar to anyone who’s at least vaguely aware of what the production of Justice League looked like. Similarly to Donner’s ordeal on the set of Superman II (which, by the way, was produced back-to-back with the hugely successful Superman), Zack Snyder was also faced with stark opposition from the Warner executives who were slowly losing faith in his ability to deliver a home run. There are numerous stories and comments from involved parties suggesting that the WB moguls were increasingly intrusive and critical of Snyder’s idea for a long-winded arc involving three interconnected Justice League films brushing shoulders with ancillary projects in production at the time, such as David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, Aquaman and The Flash, the latter of which ended up completely shelved eventually. Although the timing of events is difficult to tease out, it is highly likely that the real problems began when Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released theatrically and – despite a record-breaking opening weekend – suffered a massive week-on-week drop-off fuelled by negative word of mouth and a disappointing reception from audiences and critics alike.
Now, even though BvS itself was already a result of an artistic consensus between WB and Snyder, the studio likely then stepped in and demanded Snyder made drastic changes to a nearly-finished cut of Justice League, which – as some sources indicated – clocked in at just shy of four hours of running time. It’s not exactly clear whether Snyder was formally fired or quietly side-lined at this point, but it is widely known that Joss Whedon was brought in to advise and/or ‘fix’ the issues WB was having with Justice League and its other projects. The rest is history. Similarly to Lester, Whedon reshot and re-edited the bulk of the film now referred to as ‘the theatrical cut of Justice League’, the studio re-invented its style to mimic that of Marvel’s and the so-called Snyder Cut was confined to the bin of cinema history, if only temporarily.
Interestingly, what very few people have noted thus far is the fact that it was simply inevitable Snyder’s original vision of Justice League would have been heavily altered before its release, even if he had stayed attached to the project. Nobody in their right mind would have agreed to green-light the release of a four hour-long behemoth into cinemas, so it was to be expected that artistic compromises would have to be made and that the integrity of the director’s vision would have been intruded upon. Maybe it would have ended up broken up into two movies? Maybe parts of it would have been completely excised? Maybe it wouldn’t even look too far off what the actual theatrical cut ended up being? At this point it’s impossible to hypothesise, but it is nonetheless certain that Zack Snyder’s Justice League would be a completely different movie and its original vision would be at best relegated to an extra feature accompanying a Blu-Ray release further down the line. However, it is completely unlikely Snyder would be able to shoot any additional footage or schedule any extra effects work to make it happen; not for seventy million dollars.
Therefore, it is equally valid to see Zack Snyder’s Justice League as an instance of director’s original vision being restored, as well as a home release extra feature taking a life of its own. An interesting comparative example could be made by using the extended editions of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, whose introduction followed shortly after the original cuts have been released theatrically to incredible fan reception. Naturally, this was not accompanied by any major drama behind the scenes and it would be entirely pointless to examine this case this way. However, what the extended cuts of The Lord of The Rings achieved was that they successfully replaced the theatrical cuts as the default versions of the films one would re-watch at home.
This was likely an intended (or at least welcome) effect the extended editions of these films had over their fanbase. After all, Jackson knowingly shot way more material than he actually needed for the theatrical releases and – perhaps with some push-pull coming from the studio executives – knew ahead of time the films would be edited to fit the requirements of a theatrical blockbuster, both in terms of running time limitations and overall pacing of the narrative. In addition, the theatrical releases of The Lord of the Rings were specifically edited with the expectation of the viewers having a year-long break between each instalment, which involved including nuggets of exposition here and there to refresh people’s memory as well.
On the other hand, the extended editions were edited with the expectation of being watched in close succession, which allowed the filmmakers to alter certain aspects of the narrative progression. They didn’t have to worry about the audiences developing bedsores while watching their films and they could stay much more faithful to Tolkien’s original text, which also served to further endear their fans. They weren’t trying to appeal to general audiences either so they could – in good faith – slow down the pacing considerably because their target audience not only wouldn’t mind, but would openly welcome it, as the benefit of slowing down and stretching the running time would involve introducing denser nuance and prolonging the magical experience of accompanying Frodo and his fellowship on the ultimate quest to save Middle-Earth from the forces of evil. That’s exactly why the four-hour cut of The Two Towers remains the one to watch: its bigger, more detailed and – in all seriousness – more epic in its grandiose scale. But nobody in their right mind would ever allow Peter Jackson to unleash this film on unsuspecting and completely unprepared general audiences when the film was originally released in cinemas. It simply wouldn’t work. People would be bored, angry, tired and completely discouraged from coming back to see The Return of the King in a year’s time.
The same would likely happen if Zack Snyder hadn’t been replaced at the helm of Justice League and if – miraculously – WB executives would have allowed him to go ahead with his original four-hour cut of the movie. Diehard fans would have likely cherished it anyway, but it’s difficult to imagine the film would have made enough money to ensure the remainder of the hypothetical trilogy would ever be green-lit, let alone completed. Infuriating as it may seem, Zack Snyder’s Justice League as it is known today would not exist without the infamous theatrical cut, aka ‘Josstice League’ which it sought to replace. It is instead an exceedingly rare example of an extended cut that was allowed an extra budget and a standalone release. It is clearly designed with the hardcore fanbase in mind and constructed to be watched in a home environment, with an in-built facility to pause and go for multiple bio-breaks, stretch one’s legs or do some squats.
Having said that, Snyder’s film is much more than a Blu Ray extra. It is a fully functional standalone film that retains what was once the original vision for the DC cinematic universe. It’s hyper-stylised, gritty, dark and grand in its scale, world-building and aspiration of its storytelling. In fact, Zack Snyder’s Justice League elevates itself well beyond the confines of the comic book movie genre and is best understood as a work of modern fantasy. Ironically enough, this is yet another reason to view it as simpatico with Peter Jackson’s eponymous trilogy. It is a truly singular instance of a film best seen as an incidental overlap between a resurrected project that was once believed to have perished forever and an extended cut intended for fans that somehow was allowed to have its own heartbeat. It is by no means perfect and it will likely remain a ‘what if’ curiosity and a thorn in Warner’s side showing just how much of an impact their executive meddling can have on the visions of people they hire to direct. However, the existence of The Snyder Cut makes it abundantly clear that nobody will ever pick up the theatrically-released Justice League ever again. It is now an obsolete curiosity and Zack Snyder’s Justice League is the only Justice League movie worth watching.
