It’s official, folks! After all the outcry and hashtags and fervent begging, the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League will finally see the light of day as it was announced today by Warner Bros. Pictures that it will exclusively premiere on HBO Max in 2021.
It was even revealed on the official HBO Max Twitter page:
#ReleaseTheSnyderCut. Only on HBO Max 2021. @ZackSnyder https://t.co/cfXCK1B6pA pic.twitter.com/hqeA9i7tTL
— HBO Max (@hbomax) May 20, 2020
Snyder surprised fans with the news this morning during a live online commentary of his film Man of Steel with Henry Cavill.
“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 Snyder Cut movement for making this a reality,” said Snyder.
“Since I got here 14 months ago, the chant to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut has been a daily drumbeat in our offices and inboxes. Well, the fans have asked, and we are thrilled to finally deliver. At the end of the day, it really is all about them and we are beyond excited to be able to release Zack’s ultimate vision for this film in 2021. This could never have happened if it weren’t for the hard work and combined efforts of the teams at HBO Max and Warner Bros. Pictures,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, Warner Media Entertainment and Direct-To-Consumer.
“When Zack and Debbie shared the extraordinary vision of where Zack wanted to take Justice League, my team and our counterparts at Warner Bros. took it as a mission to solve the many issues that stood in the way,” said Kevin Reilly, Chief Content Officer at HBO Max, President, TNT, TBS and truTV. “Thanks to the partnership at Warner Bros. and the relentless pursuit of the entire WarnerMax team we are able to deliver this incredibly exciting moment for Zack, the fans and HBO Max.”
“Thanks to the efforts of a lot people, we’re excited to bring fans this highly anticipated version of Justice League,” said Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “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.”
It’s unclear exactly what form it will take. Will it be one long movie, or broken into chapters like Netflix did with The Hateful Eight?
“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,” Zack Snyder tells The Hollywood Reporter, noting that, to this day, he has not watched the version released in theaters.
“You probably saw one-fourth of what I did,” the director notes, basing his judgment on what has been shared with him of Whedon’s version.
Before Emmerich came calling, adds Snyder, “I always thought it was a thing that in 20 years, maybe somebody would do a documentary and I could lend them the footage, little snippets of a cut no one has ever seen.”
But, adds Deborah Snyder, “With the new platform and streaming services, you can have something like this. You can’t release something like this theatrically, but you could with a streaming service. It’s an opportunity that wasn’t there two years ago, to be honest.”
What will this mean for the future of the DCEU? Will this mean Snyder will get the chance to finish his 5-part saga on HBO Max? I guess we’ll have to wait until next year to really find out!
Are you excited about this news? Let us know in the comments below!!
