Zack Snyder: Justice League Distribution Underestimates “Worldwide Demand” For the Snyder Cut

Addressing the lack of a simultaneous worldwide release for the Snyder Cut of Justice League, director Zack Snyder says WarnerMedia might have underestimated the “worldwide demand” for Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Announced for a March 18 premiere on the HBO Max streaming service in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada, the four-hour and R-rated director’s cut will be available on HBO GO territories in Asia and on HBO services in Europe across the Nordics, Central Europe, Spain, and Portugal. Zack Snyder’s Justice League will premiere exclusively on HBO Max when the service launches in Latin America later in 2021, but details on future international release dates and plans for territories without HBO Max are TBD.

“All of it is out of my hands, sadly. I wish I was in charge of that as well. I’m unfortunately not, and so there has been… not amazing work done with the distribution of the movie,” Snyder told SnyderCutBR ahead of Sunday’s new trailer premiere. “I don’t know why that is, I honestly couldn’t put my finger on it. I don’t want to seem like there’s some sort of conspiracy out there, I don’t think so. I think part of the problem is no one saw the movie coming.”

Two years after Warner Bros. released the version of Justice League completed by Joss Whedon into theaters, and spurred by the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement, Warner Bros. Pictures Chairman Toby Emmerich approached Zack and Deborah Snyder about completing and releasing the long-fabled Snyder Cut. One week before the launch of its new streaming service, WarnerMedia officially announced Zack Snyder’s Justice League for HBO Max.

“I think that the normal window, or the normal way people in Hollywood distribute movies, is they understand when the movie gets made that it’s going to have to be distributed, right? And they have a two-year window to figure that all out. The problem is this happened in six months and came to life, and it’s caught everyone off guard, and I think, and also the demand has caught everyone off guard,” Snyder said. “I do believe that even when the movie was sort of greenlit, the Snyder Cut version was greenlit, I don’t know that there was a sense of urgency or an understanding of the worldwide demand that would be required of distribution and the studio and everyone to satisfy.”

Snyder continued, “The only way I think, in some ways, is to let your local carriers and also Warner Bros. in general, or HBO Max, let them know or understand that this is important to you guys. Because I think in their minds it would be like, ‘Oh, it’s [not a big deal].’ I don’t know how many people want to see it, I’m not certain of that. But I think it’s important to let it be known that that’s a thing, that there’s interest from you guys, from the fans.”

The latest trailer for Zack Snyder’s Justice League debuted Sunday morning, accompanied by a series of specialized hashtag emojis displayed as the Max Original feature quickly emerged as a global top trend on social media.

Offering new looks at Darkseid (Ray Porter), who was excised from the theatrical version of Justice League, and the first footage of Knightmare Joker (Jared Leto), who reprised his Suicide Squad role during a brief round of additional photography late last year, the latest trailer is part of a marketing push Snyder says makes it clear: this is a completely different Justice League.

“I think that’s literally the problem, is it’s kind of a two-fold thing. There’s the time window, and sort of how, I think recently, people have come around to the fact that this is a totally different movie. It’s a totally different experience, and it’s going to require a totally different sort of marketing and everything approach,” said Snyder, who will also release the Justice League: Justice Is Gray Edition in black-and-white. “I think that now that that’s landed on everyone, everyone is excited to make it happen. But it’s cool.”

Despite the currently limited worldwide rollout, Snyder believes WarnerMedia is doing what it can to get Zack Snyder’s Justice League in front of audiences. “I think they really are,” he said. “But we’ll see.”

“There’s also like weird legal things too that I’m finding out all the time. Little things here and there, small [things],” Snyder added. “Like, ‘Oh, that deal was made before the movie was made,’ there’s all these things that even the people distributing the movie, it’s out of their hands as well. ‘That territory was bought by [whoever].’ There’s all this kind of minutiae of distribution rules and other deals that you and I don’t even know about.”

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.