After years of reports calling it everything from a finished film to a pipe dream, the fabled “Snyder Cut” ofJustice Leagueis finally getting released this March, thanks to HBO Max. It is scheduled to drop on the Warner Bros. streaming platform in March under the titleZack Snyder’s Justice League, first as a four-part miniseries and later as a very long movie. With Zack Snyder finally seeing his version ofJustice Leaguereleased, one might assume that the director is planning to restorethe DC Extended Universe he establishedbefore directors like Patty Jenkins and James Wan brought a lighter tone to the franchise. But despite reports thatZack Snyder’s Justice Leagueleaves the door open for sequels, the director doesn’t intend to make any more DCEU movies.
Before the passing of his daughter forced him to step down from directingJustice League, Zack Snyder was planning the movie as the first part of a series that would’ve eventually taken DC’s iconic heroesinto space to battle Darkseid. When Snyder departed from the project, Warner Bros. and Joss Whedon drastically retooled the movie to have a leaner runtime and a lighter, more Marvel-like tone. Dissatisfied with this version of the movie, many DC fans called for the studio to release Snyder’s version until eventually,Warner relented and pumped $70 millioninto making it happen.
RELATED:Zack Snyder Wants A David Ayer Cut Of Suicide Squad
In addition to bringing back some of his own material that got cut and cutting out scenes shot by Whedon, Snyder has reportedly brought back such retired DCEU actors as Ben Affleckand Jared Leto to shoot new footageforZack Snyder’s Justice League. After all the money that the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign raised for suicide prevention, the actual release just feels like the icing on the cake.
In an interview withComicBook Debate, Zack Snyder said that sinceJustice Leagueis “a years-old movie” and the DCEU has now “branched off and done its own thing,” he doesn’t intend to stick with the franchise after the release of the Snyder Cut. The300director added that he has “no issue” with the fact thatthe DCEU has headed in a different directionthan the one he started it on withMan of SteelandBatman v Superman. Snyder elaborated, “As far as what I did and as far as what my vision for what I wanted to do with these characters and the journey I wanted them to go on, it’s well known that I planned on more movies – five movies or something – but I’m busy. I’ve got a lot going on…Would I continue [making DC movies]? I have no plan to. But, like I said, I didn’t think I’d be here, so who knows?”
Snyder’s plans to leave the franchise apparently line up with the plans of DC Films president Walter Hamada, who recently outlined the studio’s plans to create DCEU contentfor both theatrical release and streaming on HBO Maxand clarified that Snyder isn’t involved in those plans. It won’t be clear whether or not DC fans would even want to see any sequels or spin-offs toZack Snyder’s Justice Leagueuntil it drops on HBO Max in March and the verdict comes in, although a number of fanboys seem to have decided it’s a masterpiece before it’s even been released.
