DC fans are just hours away from DC FanDome, the digital event that the company is using as a stand-in for its usual Comic Con International presence and a way to bring panels, announcements, and previews of upcoming film, TV, video game, and comic book projects to fans. One of the highlights of the day has to be Zack Snyder’s Justice League, HBO Max’s planned release of filmmaker Zack Snyder’s preferred cut of the film he was credited with, but which seemingly was less than 50% his work and was all drastically recut and reworked by Joss Whedon after Snyder dropped out of the film.
Snyder had to leave Justice League, only months before release and amid frustrating conflicts with Warner Bros., when his daughter passed away. At the time, Warner said that Snyder had hand-picked Whedon to do brief reshoots and put a cap on his version of the film. In the intervening years, it has become clear that’s not what happened. As of a few months ago, Snyder was still telling reporters he hadn’t even seen the completed theatrical cut of Justice League.
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His version, though? Fans will get their first meaningful look at a trailer for that today. At 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT, to be exact, per Snyder’s announcement teaser yesterday.
Teaser Premiere 8/22 2:30pm (PDT) #DCFanDome pic.twitter.com/3RfF6LXhr3
— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) August 21, 2020
The movie was a critical disappointment and a financial disaster — a clear case of trying to please everyone by retaining some of Snyder’s elements and mythology while changing the tone to a more humorous and Marvel Studios-inspired take. It backfired, pleasing almost nobody, and almost immediately, fans of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice started lobbying to see a cut of the movie that more accurately reflected what Snyder had set out to take the screen.
#ReleaseTheSnyderCut became a social media phenomenon, and for years was a rallying point for the filmmaker’s fans, who bombarded basically every Warner Bros.-related tweet with messages in support of Snyder.
Then, as HBO Max was preparing to launch, the studio finally relented, promising fans would see Snyder’s vision in 2021 and committing an extra $30 million or so to completing visual effects, reshoots, and other odds and ends. The Snyder Cut will be available exclusively on HBO Max, with no word on any possible home video or select theatrical releases.
During today’s DC FanDome event, fans expect to learn for sure whether the movie will be released as a single, epic feature film or as a miniseries for HBO Max, giving Snyder even more real estate to work with and Warners more bang for their buck.
