Zack Snyder Discusses his ‘Justice League’ Cut
Joss Whedon’s “Frankenstein” cut of the film used recolored and edited Snyder footage alongside new scenes shot by Whedon. Snyder still hasn’t seen the theatrical cut of Justice League and won’t. “I would set the movie on fire, I’d destroy it before I used a single frame that I did not photograph,” Snyder said.
While Snyder never spoke Whedon’s name directly, he said that after decision to step down as director of Justice League, due to family tragedy (daughter committed suicide), the replacement director was chosen by a committee.
Even before he stepped down, Snyder ran into opposition from studio execs who wanted the film to be “hilarious.” He received a significant amount of pushback in wanting to see Superman return in a black suit as he famously did in “The Return of Superman” (1993) comic book storyline. Execs feared the black suit Superman would be “too scary,” but Snyder wasn’t interested in making Superman’s return into a joke. “I want Superman in full volume, in the full spectrum of emotion, not a one-note boy scout.” Snyder’s vision of a black suit Superman is finally coming to fruition and Snyder shared a brief 20 second clip of a black-clad Superman (Henry Cavill) meeting Alfred (Jeremy Irons) for the first time. While the scene had not yet been color corrected Snyder revealed that because he was never allowed to suit Superman in a black suit, the charcoal hue was a post-production effect done by recoloring the classic red and blue suit, which was specifically textured for Justice League in case he ever had the opportunity to present the character as he originally envisioned.
Snyder admitted that he didn’t have much hope it would be released and had made peace with simply teasing what he had planned through set photos and drawings posted on Vero. But now that it is happening, Snyder said there’s a lot that fans have yet to see, and plenty of surprises in store. He remained coy about the presence of Green Lantern, and a blurred photo in the background of his office that looks similar to the WWI photo featuring Wonder Woman, but with more people in the frame. Perhaps a result of some of The Flash’s (Ezra Miller) time-travel mishaps we’ve yet to see?
Snyder said that he was looking forward to the opportunity to see all of these characters come together in the film over time, suggesting that it wouldn’t be a quick or easy team-up.
He reiterated that his Justice League is largely about Cyborg, whose arc was largely cut out of the theatrical film. Careful not to reveal any major spoilers, Snyder said that the first teaser for the film, and its official title, which may be Zack Snyder’s Justice League, will be revealed at DC Fandome next month.
