'Justice League': What is the Snyder Cut and can it really be a better version of the DC superhero film?
For what it's worth, the best DC superhero film is out there and we just haven't seen it yet, or so fans ardently believe. Director Zack Snyder's version of 'Justice League' exists, and he has been baiting DC loyalists practically every day, by sharing tantalizing never-before-seen images. Recently, he posted one of a shirtless Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) with Lois Lane (Amy Adams). The call for #ReleaseTheSnyderCut has never been louder, and fans are campaigning hard for the 'redeemed' film to release again, and make them forget the huge disappointment that was the theatrical release in 2017. In fact, last week, they raised money to fly a banner over Warner Bros headquarters, asking the company to release the Snyder Cut.
What is the Snyder Cut?
Here's a little context. Snyder directed 'Man Of Steel' (2013), and later 'Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), before he finally decided to bring six superheroes together for the ambitious 'Justice League', which was DC's response to Marvel's 'Avengers'. However, things did not go as planned, and six months before the film's release, Snyder had to leave the project due to a personal family tragedy. Joss Whedon was hired by Warner Bros, and he made extensive changes that had significant impact on the film.
'Justice League' was panned by critics, and received an abysmal 40 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and had an upsetting run at the box office. DC's plans had to be shifted around, and several changes were made. Ben Affleck was replaced by Robert Pattinson, and a 'Flash' film that was announced for 2018 was delayed, and 'Cyborg' film never got made. The campaign to see the original Snyder film started, and rumors began to circulate that Snyder's version of the film was much darker. Snyder stoked the fire and started sharing unseen images from the film. The demand to see the film, which apparently was true to Snyder's vision, increased with fervour, and the cast including Affleck and Gal Gadot joined the crowd. Jason Momoa declared that he had seen the 'original' film and it was very different from what released, however, Warner Bros have kept mum on the subject, and instead devoted their time to other films.
Will it be worth it?
It would be interesting to see what-could-have-been, for sure. Yet, will Steppenwolf emerge as more than just a generic villain and with a compelling backstory? Will some annoyingly jokey scenes be edited out? Will the stakes be higher rather than Steppenwolf just being stopped? We may not know until we see it.
Wonder Woman, who was a symbol of empowerment in her own film, was just reduced to being called 'hot' in 'Justice League'. She is practically a sidekick in the middle of several men fighting to save the world. In fact, she's even taught by Batman how to be a leader. So, the powerful character who was created to inspire other women in an intrinsically masculine society, is the object of subtle romantic and sexual interest from Batman, Flash and Aquaman. She existed to just serve the men's story. If all this could be changed around in Snyder's version, that might work a little in the film's favor.
There just might be only so much redemption that the film can offer. To quote Cavill himself, it wouldn't suddenly make an extra hundred million dollars. In all probability, the film won't even release in cinemas.
Cavill wasn't so upbeat about the campaign like his co-stars and has firmly said that he would rather focus on the future. In a 2018 interview to Yahoo! UK he said, "I don’t know if [a Snyder cut] actually exists so the only way I can look at it is as a business model, and I don’t know what difference it’s going to make. There are stories to be told, which need to be told and adjustments that can be made, but that’s not going to make any difference. They’re not going to release it into cinemas and so they’re not going to suddenly make an extra few hundred million," Cavill noted. "So it would be interesting to see what the difference is, but I’d rather focus on the future rather than what’s been."
The reasoning is rather sound, you have to admit.