Justice League Fan Envisions How Snyder Cut Would Have Opened

Justice League was released in theaters almost two years ago, but for fans of Zack Snyder the movie is still a hot topic of discussion not because of what was presented in theaters, but because of what wasn’t. As is largely infamous at this point, Snyder stepped away from Justice League due to family matters and was replaced by Joss Whedon who made significant changes to the film with the end result being a film that was not only tonally disjointed but didn’t fulfill Snyder’s vision for the DC Extended Universe. Since then, fans have clamored for Warner Bros. to release the so-called “Snyder Cut”, a version of the film as put together by Snyder before his departure so that the director’s vision can be realized — even if only in a very rough cut. Now, one fan is taking matters into their own hands by creating an opening for this “Snyder Cut”, imagining a very different film than what was delivered on movie screens.

Shared on YouTube by Jon Arryn Garza, the nearly four-minute video does away with the “cell phone” footage of Superman prior to his death and the Batman opening fight scene and instead replaces it with the images of Superman’s funeral and its impact on those closest to him. It also changes out the music for that opening credits scene, doing away with Norwegian singer Sigrid’s version of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” in favor of Lois Lane’s (Amy Adams) voice over more dramatic instrumental music. You can check it out in the here.

As fans of the DC films will recognize, this reimagined opening is more in line with the opening of Batman v Superman and sets a decidedly different tone for the film than Whedon’s version. The opening scene Whedon envisioned for Justice League was even different than what ultimately made it to the final cut as well. Actor Holt McCallany explained in an interview when Justice League hit theaters that the scene of Batman chasing down a burglar in Gotham was originally intended to be comedic, but the studio had other ideas.

“I love Joss Whedon,” McCallany explained. “My scene with Batman was originally conceived as a comedic scene. That’s how Joss wrote it, and that’s how we shot it. I thought it came out great, but the studio felt it would be a mistake to open the film with a completely comedic scene, so it was re-edited a little bit. I was disappointed.”

While this fan edit is certainly well-done and engaging, it isn’t going to be enough to help fans deal with their disappointment about Justice League. Despite years of fervent campaigning, no “Snyder Cut” has materialized for fans. It’s a point that was driven home a bit recently when Warner Bros. named Ann Sarnoff as the new chair and CEO of the company and fans took the announcement as an opportunity to request a release of the film edit once again.

What do you think of this fan edited opening of Justice League? Let us know in the comments below.