Zack Snyder’s Justice League is finally going to be released on HBO Max in 2021. Not only that, but Warner Bros. Pictures revealed that it’s putting up tens of millions of dollars in added budgetary costs, to complete the Justice League Snyder Cut in full. That announcement has been call for much celebration from DC movie fans who championed the “Snyderverse” era of the franchise, and pushded hard to make #ReleaseTheSnyderCut happen. However, the chairman of WarnerMedia and head of the HBO Max streaming service, Bob Greenblatt, has just made statements that seem to hint that the Justice League Snyder Cut is going to cost more than $30 million to complete.
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While appearing on the Vox’s Recode podcast, Bob Greenblatt said the following about the budgetary complexities involved with making Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League:
“…it isn’t as easy as going into the vault and there’s a Snyder Cut sitting there to put out,” Greenblatt explains. “It does not exist. Zack is actually building it and it’s complex including…new VFX shots, it’s a radical rethinking of that movie and it’s complicated and wildly expensive… I’ll just say I wish it was just 30 million and stop there. It’s an enormous undertaking and very complex.”
This statement form Greenblatt brings us right back to the central question that’s really at the heart of the Snyder Cut’s release: namely, what’s Warner Bros.’ main goal by releasing it? The traditional “studios like money” thinking seems small, in this case; this is huge investment for a studio to make just quiet upset fans. The Snyder Cut could’ve been a watch party or documentary special in its incomplete form, with just as much hype around it, at a fraction of the cost. But WB is investing in finishing Snyder’s vision for Justice League in its fully “enormous” and “complex” form. But to what end?
Even Snyder’s epic 4-hour Justice League movie was meant to simply be setup for a larger, multi-film storyline, as well as the launchpad for several DC solo film franchises. Are the Justice League sequels now back on the table?
It would make sense to put this much money into completing the Snyder Cut if Warner Bros. wants to get back on track with the Justice League and/or larger DC movie franchise, without being strangled by the kind of continuity knots it has now. If nothing else though, fans can rest assured that they’re getting a legitimate do-over with Justice League, if the money spent is any indication.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League will stream on HBO Max in 2021.
