Shazam! Star Zachary Levi Says Finished Justice League Snyder Cut Release Is “Just Not Happening”

An officially-released version of the finished Justice League Snyder Cut is “just not happening,” says Shazam! star Zachary Levi, who believes the fabled cut “doesn’t exist.” A director’s cut of the superhero crossover fulfilling the vision of original director Zack Snyder, the famed Snyder Cut has for two years been at the center of the “Release the Snyder Cut” campaign — a mostly fan-backed movement urging studio Warner Bros. to make the Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice director’s version of Justice League officially available for public consumption. Industry insiders called those hopes a “pipe dream,” citing the cost needed to complete an unfinished version of a “commercial disaster” that failed to earn even $700 million worldwide.

“Well, I know what a whole bunch of people on Twitter keep crying out for, but it doesn’t exist. As far as I know, it doesn’t exist,” Levi said when asked about the oft-talked about Snyder Cut at Celebrity Fan Fest Preview Con in October. “Of course there’s always like initial, early drafts, or early cuts that they’ll show studios and stuff like that, but I’m sure that’s as far as that got.”

In May 2017, Snyder had to step back from the film following a family tragedy. The studio then tapped The Avengers writer-director Joss Whedon to script new scenes and oversee reshoots to complete Justice League.

“[Zack] had to leave, and Joss was brought on, and they did the rest of the movie, and that was the cut. There is not some finished version of Justice League with all the everything that was all Zack Snyder, that I know of,” Levi said. “You can’t believe everything online. Shocker, right?”

He continued, “I would encourage anyone who’s still waiting for some Snyder Cut to be released to focus your passion into another cut of something else. Because it’s just not happening. It doesn’t exist.”

Levi then joked he’s “still waiting for the Snyder Cut to be released” before adding, “No, I’m kidding. It doesn’t exist.”

In December, Snyder confirmed the existence of the Snyder Cut with a photo published to social media platform Vero. Commenting on that photo, Snyder admitted to his followers he’s “tired of people saying it’s not real.” When replying to a fan who suggested leaking the cut, Snyder wrote that’s “not a bad idea.”

Weeks later, in another update on Vero, Snyder said his version of Justice League is “not 100 percent finished.”

“[There’s] still some stuff I want to do as with every film I’ve made,” Snyder wrote, “not sure what difference it makes as to the finished level of the film.”

In November, two years after the Snyder-Whedon Justice League reached theaters, the film’s stars participated in a coordinated campaign to “#ReleaseTheSnyderCut.”

The campaign drew support from Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, Aquaman star Jason Momoa, Cyborg star Ray Fisher and former Batman Ben Affleck, who all publicly backed the movement on social media. After screening the Snyder Cut, Momoa said in an interview: “I think the public needs to see it.”

Levi returns to the DC Extended Universe in Shazam! 2, in theaters April 1, 2022.