What Is “The Snyder Cut” And Why Is Everybody Talking About It Again?
The strangest story in superhero movie history is back in the news.
In 2017, DC released Justice League. It was meant to be the crowning achievement of their cinematic canon — a superhero crossover that mashed up some of the biggest icons in comics. Instead, it was something of a mess.
The film netted a mere $657 million at the box office. That ‘mere’ sounds ludicrous, until you take into account that the thing cost $300 million. If you go by the rule of thumb that films need to double their production cost to break even, then Justice League made, at most, about $60 million. And to be honest, it probably didn’t even make that.
In the aftermath of the bomb, critics pointed to all sorts of problems, from tone, to a muddled script, to rushed handling from DC.
But according to fans of the DC cinematic universe, the issue lay in behind-the-scenes drama. More specifically, in the departure of original director Zack Snyder from the project.
Thus began a mythic story in superhero cinema: the legend of the Synder cut.
What Is The Snyder Cut?
Snyder, the director of Watchmen and 300, was the original filmmaker behind Justice League. During the post-production process, however, he suffered a terrible loss: the death of his daughter. As a result, he stepped away from the film, leaving the reshoots to Joss Whedon, best known as the creator of Buffy and director of The Avengers.
According to some sources, Whedon’s reshoots changed the film’s plot and tone, giving it a chirpier, more upbeat feel. For some DC fans, this abrupt tonal shift was the reason for the movie’s failure. From there, it was only a short skip and a jump to assume that the original version that Snyder assembled was a more cohesive, enjoyable cinematic experience.
Please just release the Snyder Cut so we can finally end the most inane subplot in this season of social media.
— Keith Calder (@keithcalder) November 17, 2019
Thus, fans began campaigning for DC to release the ‘Snyder cut’, the version of the film that the director had largely assembled before leaving the project. In fact, some 180,000 of them signed a petition, demanding that Warner release the vision of the film from its original director.
Despite the widespread support from within the fanbase, these early days of the campaign were marked by confusion and backlash — many assumed that no Snyder cut existed. Not in a releasable form, anyway — for critics of the movement, the famed ‘Snyder cut’ could be no more than a messy assembly cut.
But that all changed when Snyder himself confirmed that a cut of the film more in line with his original vision did in fact exist, and was releasable. Months later, Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa, claimed that he had seen the Snyder cut, and that it was “sssiiiiick.”
Now, the pressure was really on.
Why Is #ReleaseTheSnyderCut Trending Again?
Since Momoa’s reaction to the cut, movement on the Snyder cut was largely relegated to fans.
That all changed today when several of the film’s stars came out on Twitter, pressuring Warner to release that version of the film.
Yep, Batman and Wonder Woman themselves have gone public over the battle for the cut.
#ReleaseTheSnyderCut pic.twitter.com/wssMmlPqEK
— Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) November 17, 2019
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) November 17, 2019
Moments later, Snyder himself weighed in.
This ancient Amazonian can’t be wrong. #releasethesnydercut https://t.co/XBdaE1ynkL
— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) November 17, 2019
Will this change Warner’s mind about releasing the film?
It’s possible. The internet campaign is its own form of marketing, and there’s been a lot of free publicity afforded to Warner already. But then again — this might just remain a pipe dream, one of those mythic stories that the culture is forever haunted by.
Guess only time will tell.