Almost two years after Justice League was released in theaters, fans of the DC film are still clamoring for the so-called “Snyder Cut”, the version of the DC hero team-up film that director Zack Snyder allegedly put together before departing the film for personal reasons. There’s also allegedly a “Trank Cut” of Josh Trank‘s notorious 2015 Fantastic Four that has never seen the light of day. Now, Trank has offered up a suggestion of a double feature of both rumored film edits, but with a sad twist.
On Thursday, Trank took to Twitter with his idea for a double feature of the Snyder Cut of Justice League along with the “Trank Cut” of Fantastic Four, but when moviegoers get settled in for the movies, play an entirely different film instead before holding a discussion — Jerry Lewis’ The Day the Clown Cried.
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Lure everyone to a massive theater for a double feature of the #snydercut & the #trankcut and then just play Jerry Lewis’s “The Day The Clown Cried” and hold a discussion.
— Josh Trank (@joshuatrank) June 21, 2019
Now, some fans understandably had a “wait, what?” moment when reading that tweet. For starters, the idea of a “Trank Cut” of Fantastic Four isn’t quite as talked about as the Snyder Cut of Justice League. Back in 2016, Doctor Doom actor Toby Kebbell backed up a tweet that Trank had, at the time, posted and deleted, by claiming that Trank had put together a cut of the film that he described as “great” and noted that the audience would never see. Since then, Trank has largely distanced himself from Fantastic Four.
But other than some questions about the “Trank Cut”, it’s the significance of Lewis film that some may have questions about. The Day the Clown Cried is a 1972 drama directed by and starring Jerry Lewis, but it was never released. The film, which follows the story of a circus clown who is imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, has a complicated history. Not only was its subject matter controversial, there were issues with funding for the film, film equipment showed up on set late or not at all, and then there are the release rights for the film which have never been secured — a complicated story by itself. A rough cut of the film reportedly exists — it was reported that Lewis had donated a copy of the film to the Library of Congress, but it’s reportedly not a complete print of the film. It’s also worth noting that Lewis himself said repeatedly that the film would never be released because it’s just that bad, with Lewis saying back in 2013 that he was “embarrassed at the poor work”.
All of these things make The Day the Clown Cried one of Hollywood’s biggest mysteries, even more than the Snyder Cut of Justice League. That status, as well as that its own director and star was embarrassed by it, makes The Day the Clown Cried a darkly fitting suggestion from Trank as for what to show instead of the Fantastic Four/Justice League double feature combo. However, with all the complexities involved with The Day the Clown Cried, it’s far more likely that of the three films, the Snyder Cut has the best chance of seeing the light of day. If it actually exists — and there are quite a few indications that it does, with Snyder himself reportedly confirming it — the only thing that appears to be holding back its release is Warner Bros. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of fans, it doesn’t seem like the studio has any interest in doing so at this time.
What do you think about Trank’s double feature suggestion? Let us know in the comments below.