Jeremy Irons Still Hasn't Seen the Snyder Cut of Justice League
Justice League and Watchmen star Jeremy Irons still hasn't seen Zack Snyder's Justice League. In a new interview, Irons was asked about his role as Alfred Pennyworth to Ben Affleck's Batman, which he played in both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. But Irons couldn't really give his reaction to The Snyder Cut of Justice League, confessing that "Strangely, I think I have it and I haven't seen it. I shall have to hunt it out and see if I have it somewhere online or on a DVD."
It's not just some random coincidence that Jeremy Irons hasn't seen Justice League: he just hasn't felt at all motivated to do so: "I remember talking to Zack [Snyder] before he did it and being very interested to see what he came up with. It couldn't have been worse."
When the interviewer pushed for clarification about whether or not Irons meant Justice League couldn't have been worse than the theatrical cut, the actor confirmed that indeed, he didn't think the Snyder Cut could be any worse than the theatrical. When the interviewer outright said that he thought Justice League's theatrical cut was "dreadful," Jeremy Irons said, "Well, so did I."
Zack Snyder's Justice League remains one of the most interesting (and infamous) stories in modern superhero blockbuster filmmaking. Warner Bros. wavered in support of Snyder's vision during Batman v Superman; the studio ultimately chopped up Dawn of Justice into a semi-coherent theatrical cut, and the pressure ultimately made Snyder and the studio part ways during Justice League's production. Justice League made a fair enough nut at the box office ($657.9 million on a $300M budget), but it crashed and burned with both hardcore DC "Snyderverse" fans and mainstream audiences and critics, stranding the DC Movie Universe franchise in a strange limbo.
Changes in Warner Bros and/or WarnerMedia management – plus a sustained social media campaign by fans – finally sparked a new opportunity for Snyder to come in finish Justice League as he intended, with the film helping to kick off HBO Max's run of premium blockbuster movies on streaming in 2021. The response to The Snyder Cut may not have been measured in box office numbers, but it certainly became (and apparently still is) a cultural touchstone that has helped spark new interest in the DCEU franchise.
Now, thanks to Snyder, HBO Max and DC are once again trending, as James Gunn's Peacemaker TV series carries the franchise forward.
Source: Variety