As of writing this essay, I have not seen one minute, nay—one second—of Justice League. Ever. I didn’t watch the trailers, didn’t follow any of the promotional material. It’s not even that the bad press Justice League received got to me and I refused to go watch the movie for that reason. I can’t even chalk up being more of a Marvel fan than a DC fan to my not-seeing of Justice League.
In November 2017, I was in my senior year of high school, applying to George Washington University, and playing Jack’s Mother in Into the Woods. When the film came out, I was actually in the throes of tech week for Into the Woods, which blocked out my weekends for the rest of the month. I had no time to see it between the show and school. And then The Last Jedi came out. And then I had three major trauma events happen within the span of a month. Justice League was simply not on my radar at the time, and was already out of theatres by the time I felt “okay” enough to go out with friends and do things again.
Throughout my high school and undergrad years, I saw the DCEU films in theaters, usually on opening weekends. I watched the first two seasons of Arrow. I watched the Tim Burton Batman movies growing up. I have vague memories of watching Batman: The Animated Series and Teen Titans as a kid. I have a Batgirl comic book somewhere in my room. I can appreciate Batman and Superman as much as the next person for being pop culture icons. But I’m also the snarky person who says my favorite Batman is LEGO Batman when asked by fanboys at parties or online just to mess with them. (Even though I am of the strongly-held opinion that LEGO Batman is the best Batman thus far—the Twihard in me is holding out for the Batpat.) Don’t get me wrong—I’m a fan of DC, just not a hardcore fan.
It’s clear to see by now that I am not in the DC or DCEU fandoms. Most of my friends online and in real life are not hardcore DC or DCEU fans, either. Most of us are Marvel fans. I have a couple friends who are super into DC and DCEU, but not enough that I would say I know the discourse, the lingo, and the “right” opinions to have on the comics, characters, films, or shows. I’m simply a casual viewer and a casual fan. All I know about Justice League as someone on the “outside” is that I should think it’s a bad movie, wholly irredeemable, and therefore not worthy of my attention.
So when I first heard about the Snyder Cut actually getting released, it got my mental gears turning. We have no equivalent in the MCU—something I might actually write about in a later post now that I mention it—so this is mostly-foreign territory to me. The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit extended editions do not count in this situation because they were not released as “damage control” for unsuccessful movies. They are extended versions of highly-successful films for the dedicated fans. What makes the Snyder Cut different is that it’s being released so that Warner Brothers and DC can get back in the good graces of their fans after the poor showing of the original Justice League. And also to make a buck.
I had no idea that Zack and Deborah Snyder had lost their daughter to suicide during the postproduction process of Justice League until I began doing some preliminary research to write this post. Clearly, their loss and subsequent departure from the film is a big factor in interpreting the situation surrounding Justice League and the Snyder Cut, and I do not want to deny that in the slightest. At the time, the Snyders figured that passing the mantle to Joss Whedon for rewrites and reshoots was the best option. I’m sure that for them, it was a difficult choice to make, especially seeing how Whedon took a different approach to their vision. It’s always hurtful for a director to see their vision get twisted.
Before I continue, I want to include an aside. I have been a director before. I have been involved in several theatrical shows in a variety of onstage and backstage roles. I know firsthand how important directorial vision is. My own directorial debut, a punk-inspired take on Julius Caesar, was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic; we never saw the stage. There exists, in my mind, a kind of Snyder Cut of my show that never was. Before directing, I knew that directorial vision was central to any film or show, but after directing, that perspective has become even more apparent to me. I am a strong believer in directorial vision and doing whatever it takes within legal, moral, and ethical means to achieve that vision. So as a former director with her own “Snyder Cut situation,” the fact that there exists a version of Justice League that is supposedly “truer” to the director’s intent than what was released is a captivating situation.
As someone from the outside looking in, I see the DC fans who campaigned for the Snyder Cut as people demanding studios to give artistic and narrative control back to the directors. (Although some of these demands have been incredibly toxic.) And giving the control back to the director is paramount to me because it is their art, their vision, and their project—no matter what studio is backing and releasing the film. And so the Snyder Cut is a triumph in that regard for directors and creators. For Warner Brothers to allow Whedon to strip the Snyders’ story of all the things that supposedly made it great indicates to me a lot of studio oversight and control in a project that isn’t theirs artistically, even if they are backing it.
But the Snyder Cut situation does make me nervous. I see on the horizon the potential for something darker: studios creating secret, “definitive” versions and holding onto them to re-release at a later date to make a buck in case their first cut doesn’t work out with fans and critics. I know I shouldn’t expect better from a corporation, but please understand that these studios have immense control over their creators and their fans. DC and Warner Brothers aren’t exactly saints for releasing the Snyder Cut—they’re making money off of fan anger and discourse.
So answer me this. Does creating and releasing a Snyder Cut solve any problems? What happens if the Snyder Cut is just as bad as Justice League? What if we’ve been living in the fantasy that the Snyder Cut has a higher quality? What if the Snyder Cut has been a bust this whole time, and Warner Brothers just wants money? Are two added hours even going to make a difference? And what do we decide is canon now: Justice League, or the Snyder Cut? And how much did the studio control what went into the final Snyder Cut to begin with? Is it even the Snyders’ cut anymore?
My biggest fear is that Warner Brothers and DC are telling their fans that the Snyder Cut is Snyder’s fullest directorial vision, and that it is the true, canonical, and intended work that Snyder himself wanted, when in fact it’s just their cut. I fear that there’s going to be a third, “canonical” Snyder Cut if this one doesn’t pan out the way Warner Brothers and DC want it to. As someone who takes directorial vision very seriously, but also knows how overbearing and manipulative studios can be, I am nervous about the impending discourse after the Snyder Cut is released this upcoming Thursday.
This is all to say is that Warner Brothers and DC releasing the Snyder Cut is not necessarily a good or bad thing. It’s a complex, multi-faceted thing, as all pieces of media are. No piece of media will ever be pure. I will be watching the Snyder Cut on Thursday because I am a strong supporter of directorial vision. I can only hope that Warner Brothers and DC haven’t been fooling fans this whole time.
I’m debating on whether or not I want to watch Justice League before I watch the Snyder Cut. My brain is telling me to watch the Snyder Cut first because it’s the director’s “actual” vision, but I feel like I’ll be missing what makes the Snyder Cut “special” if I don’t watch Justice League first. I will end up watching at some point this week, so stay tuned for part two!
With A Hero 