Justice League: Is The Snyder Cut Just Complicating DC Films Continuity?

With Zack Snyder seemingly done at DC following the HBO Max release of his cut of Justice League, and the new revelation that Ray Fisher seems extremely unlikely to return as Cyborg for the foreseeable future, is the release of the Snyder Cut something of a wish on the monkey’s paw? With the film’s cast, as well as filmmakers like Patty Jenkins, expressing much more enthusiasm for Snyder’s cut than they did the theatrical version of Justice League, it seems like now would be the time for Snyder, his cast, and his fans to be taking a victory lap. Instead, some are worried that Zack Snyder’s Justice League could end up simply confusing the timeline, setting up stories that are bound never to go anywhere, and confusing casual fans who will wonder which version of the movie “counts” if you’re going to sit down and watch the DC film universe in a binge.

The truth is, the Fisher revelation does little to chance what fans have already known, and wondered, about the Snyder Cut since HBO Max announced that it would be released. It has always raised questions about which version of the movie would “count,” although it isn’t frankly clear whether it would matter anyway, considering that we don’t know whether any difference to the overall plot is significant enough that it would change the events of movies spinning out of it.

The bigger question, honestly, is whether Snyder’s new format — four, one-hour installments on HBO Max, with some time and money set aside for reshoots — will allow him the chance to wrap up some plot threads, and end differently.

That has seemed like a likely outcome from the beginning; when Snyder was announced as the director of Justice League, it was set to be a Part One/Part Two movie, like what was done with the Twilight and Harry Potter movies around that time. By about midway through shooting, when Snyder met with reporters visiting the set of Justice League, he revealed that it was going to be just one film. After Snyder left the film and was replaced by Joss Whedon, it seems as though Whedon tried to put together a satisfying ending, but did so by cutting out much of the heart of the film Snyder was trying to make. Now that he is getting a chance to reveal his cut to the world, what will Snyder do to wrap up a movie that may have been written as part one of a series?

Well, with a little luck, maybe that’s what the reshoots are for. It would certainly be nice to see Snyder close out his story in a satisfying way and set up what comes next, without feeling like he’s baiting a sequel that won’t happen.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is coming to HBO Max in March.