Justice League Director Explains Why the Snyder Cut Is So Bloody and Violent

There’s no way around it — the Justice League Snyder Cut is an R-rated movie. Even outside the film’s two big “f-bombs,” there’s an incredible amount of blood and violence. According to Zack Snyder, those additions are all a result of complete creative freedoms over the project at hand.

In a recent interview with Variety, Snyder says the ability to add decapitations and smushed heads is a “pure exercise in creative freedom.” The filmmaker says that freedom led to a whole new examination of how god-like characters would fight and act during the heat of battle.

“Let’s just do it the exact way we would if there was no ratings board. Let’s not use any second guessing. Let’s just do it the way we think is the coolest. That was the philosophical approach,” Snyder said. “I always feel that the consequence is important to me, that there’s real stakes. It still is abstract, you know. These are gods fighting men. Which is also part of the point. We can’t really fight them. Humans can’t really fight them.”

As his wife and fellow producer Deborah then pointed out, the heavier rating does care a sense of seriousness the previous version of the film was missing. “But, Zack, I also think part of it too is just having real repercussions. Sometimes in the watered down or the PG-13 [movies], it feels, I think, a little bit more irresponsible in a way because there aren’t repercussions,” Deborah added.

Snyder then said the last thing he wanted to do was sugarcoat any of the violence included in the movie, whether it be an action sequence against heroes, demons, or otherwise.

“If you don’t address the actual violence as violence, to me, you’re lowering the stakes on all levels,” the filmmaker concluded. “If the superhero smashes the car, and the whole car explodes, and you just see the guy kind of crawl out of the wreckage, and you’re like, oh okay, it’s still PG-13, the fact you don’t show the blood is a technicality. The violence is still there. I want a true depiction of the violence. I don’t want to sugarcoat it.”

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is now streaming on HBO Max.

What’s your favorite moment of the director’s cut? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section!