Could the Snyder Cut of Justice League Get a Black-and-White Release?

At some point about four years ago, Zack Snyder’s Justice League was just going to be Justice League (or possibly Justice League Part One). The film, a follow-up to Snyder’s Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, was to kickstart the next step in the DC Films universe. When he departed the project, and was replaced by Joss Whedon, the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League became a piece of internet lore, debated and teased, demanded and derided. Once HBO Max came along and said they planned to actually release the film, it took on a new life. Speculation about what it would be, teases of what had been changed, and more.

Of course, it even changed shape within that context, at one point being pitched as a four-part event before settling back into a single four-hour film that has the potential for a separate theatrical release. One thing that has remained consistent throughout that roll-out? The movie has been presented largely in black and white for promotional purposes.

This feels like one of a few things. First, it could be an intentional thumbing of the nose at Snyder’s vocal critics, many of whom have bemoaned the desaturated colors in his superhero films. on the other hand, it could be that Snyder has a legitimate interest in his cut of Justice League being seen in the high-contrast, ultra sharp black and white that HD digital photography affords filmmakers now.

We saw a little bit of that when James Mangold released Logan in black-and-white, of course. That cut of the movie was included on the Blu-ray release of the theatrical cut, but it did get a one-night stand in movie theaters.

Now, what does that have to do with Justice League?

With Snyder talking about a theatrical release for his exoribitantly long cut of the movie, and with the movie itself premiereing on HBO Max, it’s likely that fans (and maybe Snyder himself) will feel like there should be something a little extra on the home video release (assuming there is one, which seems like a safe bet, since comic book fans are collectors and will buy it).

Snyder is, somewhat famously, a guy who keeps tweaking and tweaking his movies. Not quite as dramatically as a George Lucas, but there have been extended director’s cuts of his films Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen, Sucker Punch, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on home entertainment platforms. He has also, more recently, reworked Batman v Superman again — this time to make it an IMAX film, with an eye toward a possible, limited theatrical release for that as well. He hasn’t even ruled out an IMAX version of Man of Steel — which up to this point seems to have been a movie he was pretty pleased with.

WIth all of that backstory, the idea of producing a black-and-white version of Justice League for inclusion on a special edition Blu-ray certainly seems like something that’s within the realm of reasonable possibility.

Would you like to see a black-and-white regrading of Zack Snyder’s Justice League? Sound off in the comments below. The film will be available on HBO Max on March 18.