With Justice League not faring as well critically as many thought, some fans have taken it upon themselves to petition Warner Bros. to release the Zack Snyder cut of the film.
Snyder left the film in May after shooting many months on the film due to a family tragedy. The studio then brought in Joss Whedon to finish the film, and Whedon ordered massive reshoots in order to cobble together a completed cut. Many fans believe the theatrical cut of Justice League is sort of a “Franken-movie” with bits clearly attributed to the styles of one filmmaker or the other. In addition, the former composer, Junkie XL, was replaced late in the game by Danny Elfman, as it was felt his sound would fare better with the new version of the film.
Now, a group of DC fans has decided to petition Warner Bros. to release the initial Zack Snyder cut of the film. This move would not be without precedent, as Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice received a similar release. You can read an excerpt of their mission statement below:
“We the undersigned make this petition, because during the last few months, the film Justice League underwent a few changes in terms of composer and runtime. Zack Snyder, director of the film, screened Justice League to Warner Bros. executives earlier this year, they where happy with the film, but the director himself felt the film needed something more, he contacted Joss Whedon, director of The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, to write a few additional scenes with plans to shoot them over the summer, but an unfortunate tragedy in his family happened and he understandably had to step down, Warner Bros. following Snyder’s departure, released a statement saying that Justice League will be finished as Zack Snyder’s vision, but a week after that statement, composer Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) was replaced with Danny Elfman, much to the dismay of fans, who were concerned about the thematic compositional elements from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman being changed, due to the change in composer.
In early October cinemas confirmed that the runtime for Justice League will be 2hrs long, much to the shock of fans, who were asking themselves: “how will a film that has 6 main characters, their supporting players, a story that revolves around an alien invasion, the terraforming of earth and the return of a familiar face, would fit in a 2hr runtime?”, Many film critics, websites and journalists started comparing the runtime to Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope, stating that the sci-fi/fantasy film dealt with 5 characters, the introduction of a mythology and an intergalactic war, but the difference between Justice League and Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope is very simple: Justice League as mentioned earlier, revolves around a plot to terraform earth, an alien invasion, 4 new characters, their backstories and their motivations, the development of 2 other characters from previous entries in the DC Extended Universe and the return of a familiar face that need development and I will explain myself.
The DC Extended Universe is based on DC comics, a brand of comic books that writes superheroes, villains and other characters from different backgrounds with different backstories and motivations, that are relatable to the reader with themes that mirror the real world, for example, Man of Steel was the first entry in the the DC Extended Universe, the film revolved around an alien trying to find his place in the world, while dealing with his past, alien origins, superhuman abilities and a plot that revolved around first contact with an alien civilization, while the sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice revolved around the existence of an alien and his purpose in the world, how humanity reacted to him, how they were divided and ultimately united, because ofnhim, the different philosophies, ideologies and motivations of a man coming to gripes with his past, the reality of aliens living amongst humans and the realization that such alien could be dangerous, a man with a childhood trauma, who wants to get rid of abusive figures and who realizes that power is not innocent and the perception of humans towards the alien in question. Justice League is the culmination of the alien’s story and the beginning of a new chapter in the DC Extended Universe. Fans have been waiting for years, while others have waited decades for the film to finally arrive on the silver screen. The 2hr runtime is disrespectful towards Zack Snyder’s vision and towards the fans who have waited for more than a year to see the alien’s story come to an end.”
While Warner Bros. has yet to respond, the petition currently has over 17,000 signatures, which you can check out here.
What do you think, should WB release the Snyder cut? Sound off in the comments below!
In Justice League, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Justice League is directed by Zack Snyder with post-production duties handled by Joss Whedon. The film stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons and Jesse Eisenberg.
Justice League is currently playing in theatres.
