Why Zack Snyder Never Disavowed Joss Whedon’s Theatrical Cut of Justice League

Zack Snyder still hasn’t seen Justice League, the theatrical version of his superhero ensemble completed by Joss Whedon and released into theaters in 2017, and there are at least six reasons why Snyder never disavowed the movie credited to a single director: himself. Because Snyder filmed most of the footage that appeared in the theatrical cut — Whedon took over post-production and directed reshoots — the Avengers filmmaker only receives a co-“screenplay by” credit. Days out from the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the director’s cut that doesn’t use a single frame of footage recorded under Whedon, Snyder explains why he refrained from disowning a version of the movie that wasn’t his:

“There were a few things. There had been a tragedy in my family that was really all-consuming,” Snyder told Jake’s Takes about the death of his daughter Autumn Snyder, who receives a tribute in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. “Frankly, I hadn’t seen the movie, I still haven’t seen the theatrical version of the movie, so maybe I have been able to dampen my outrage by just not knowing what happens differently (laughs).”

Snyder didn’t want to detract from his “dear friends” who unite for the first time in Justice League: Ben Affleck (Batman), Henry Cavill (Superman), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Ray Fisher (Cyborg), and Ezra Miller (Flash).

“My cast, I love them, and I really just want the best for them,” Snyder said. “So it was really just about me saying [I support them]. I was confident that the movie wasn’t what I had intended, but I also felt like my sort of fight had been taken. So I kind of let it be what it was.”

Snyder added, “Frankly, this time, these years have gone by, and through it, I’ve been able to kind of in my time go, ‘Okay, great. If there’s a desire to see it, let’s do it.’ That’s a gift, so I thank the fans and I thank HBO Max for letting me finish it.”

Desires to see Snyder’s Justice League played out in the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign that saw social media takeovers and real-life stunts from fans, including an attention-grabbing billboard in Times Square and banners that flew over the Warner Bros. studio lot.

When WarnerMedia’s streaming service announced the long-fabled Snyder Cut would finally release on HBO Max, Snyder told THR his version is an “entirely new experience” and that audiences who watched the 2017 movie in theaters “probably saw one-fourth of what I did.”

In February, Snyder officially confirmed a second version of his Justice League — the Zack Snyder’s Justice League: Justice Is Gray Edition in black-and-white — to release at a later date.

“My ideal version of the movie is the black-and-white IMAX version of the movie. That, to me, is the most fan-centric, most pure, most Justice League experience,” Snyder said about this version late last year. “Because that’s how I lived with the movie for two years, in black-and-white.”

Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Ciarán Hinds, Ray Porter, Joe Manganiello, and Jared Leto, Zack Snyder’s Justice League releases March 18 on HBO Max.