Blimey. You can now add #ReleaseTheSnyderCut to the list of fan movements and demands that have resulted in concrete action. At the end of a Man Of Steel live watch-along commentary, Zack Snyder announced that his vision for Justice League will hit screens, albeit via HBO Max next year.
"I want to thank HBO Max and Warner Brothers for this brave gesture of supporting artists and allowing their true visions to be realized. Also a special thank you to all of those involved in the SnyderCut movement for making this a reality," said Snyder in a statement.
The director's version of Justice League has a tortured history that spans a long cut and then family tragedy which saw Snyder and wife/producing partner Deborah Snyder step away in the midst of post-production. Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to finish a version of the movie that deviated significantly from Snyder's thanks to new script pages and re-shoots. "You probably saw one-fourth of what I did," Snyder tellsThe Hollywood Reporter. "It will be an entirely new thing, and, especially talking to those who have seen the released movie, a new experience apart from that movie."
Now the Snyders are reassembling the post-production team (remotely, one assumes), to work on new score material, finish visual effects and add new ones, and have the actors record some fresh dialogue, with the whole thing rumoured to cost between $20 and $30 million.
What form the new release will take remains to be seen: it could be a near four-hour director's cut or split into chapters on the new Warners streaming service, which has yet to announce a date in the UK. "Thanks to the efforts of a lot people, we’re excited to bring fans this highly anticipated version of Justice League," says Warner Bros. Pictures chairman Toby Emmerich. "This feels like the right time to share Zack’s story, and HBO Max is the perfect platform for it. We’re glad the creative planets aligned, allowing us to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut."