Of the many complaints critics had about Justice League, perhaps the biggest one was Steppenwolf. Played by Ciaran Hinds, the film’s villain did not look like he had been teased in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and some critics said that, like Superman’s removed mustache, the film’s villain looked rushed and unfinished. None of that criticism really fell on Ciaran Hinds, who by his own admission basically did all of his work in a booth and was motion-captured into the role. But now that Zack Snyder‘s director’s cut of Justice League is set to be released next year by HBO Max, Hinds is glad it’s happening, and hopes it lives up to the hype.
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Hinds stopped short of saying much about the differences between Snyder’s vision and the one that eventually saw release in 2017. He also said that he didn’t know enough to comment on the alleged abuses going on during the film’s reshoots.
“It was his dream to realise it, and I think it’s fantastic that he’s got this opportunity to realise what he wanted to do in the first space,” Hinds told NME. “He has the chance to recreate what he wanted to do and I hope it stands up to the trial it’s been given.”
Snyder’s director’s cut of Justice League will be release on HBO Max next year as a four-part limited series event. It will include, among other things, Superman wearing a version of his black-and-silver costume from the “Reign of the Supermen!” storyline in the comics; the first onscreen appearance of Darkseid in a DC film; and an expanded history of the New Gods’ role in the DC Universe, colloquially known as the “history lesson” segment of the movie.
Snyder left the film in 2017, following the death of his daughter and reportedly already amid squabbles with the studio over the film’s content. It’s widely believed that some of the producers and management that oversaw the film were unhappy with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and wanted Justice League to take a different approach to the characters.
After his departure, Marvel’s The Avengers director Joss Whedon was called in for what were characterized at the time as minor reshoots, but have since been talked about by cast and crew as a radical overhaul of the movie. Snyder retained the sole director’s credit, but since the two men have wildly different styles, it was pretty easy for fans to figure out who had shot what — and that marked the start of the “#ReleaseTheSnyderCut” movement.
You can see Snyder’s DC films and the theatrical cut of Justice League. on HBO Max.
