Zack Snyder‘s version of Justice League will not have reshoots.
Last week social media blew up at the news during The Wrap podcast with Snyder and surprise guest Henry Cavill that the original director of the 2016 film would release his version of Justice League on HBO Max in 2021.
However, albeit an actor tapped for sorely missed Darkseid, Umberto Gonzalez of The Wrap clarifies what not to look for: “There’s not goint to be any reshoots of any kind with any actors. It’s just the additional dialogue. Here’s something that hasn’t been reported yet: Snyder [did indeed want] to do additional photography, but HBO Max said [‘No.] We’ll give you money for post-production, for special effects, for scoring, and even ADR but no reshoots of any kind on [this movie.'”]
During principal photography in 2016, Snyder had to pull out of directing Justice League due to personal tragedy. This led to Avengers director Joss Whedon stepping in and reshooting the film in a way that deviated from Zack’s vision. His take was more vibrant in color and witty, but failed to capture the full potential of the cast and the story. And many fans criticized the CGI upper lip on Cavill in reshot scenes that he couldn’t shave off because of his involvement in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. (And sadly, reports in China saw the editing fail to put in that CGI upper lip; Asian fans actually saw the Man of Steel wearing a moustache in certain scenes.) As a result, Justice League was a critical failure with fans, scoring 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans have clamored for a cut of Zack Snyder’s original concept for years, especially since this failure led to the collapse of the DCEU. Warner Bros. cut their losses and – with the exception of Aquaman, Shazam!, and the upcoming WW84 and Black Adam – focused on standalone DC properties. Their decision was validated by the success of Joker.
Gonzalez goes on to say “This movie is basically one and done[. This is basically to] finish the story. Maybe not the whole story, [because Zack had] a three to five picture plan. But this Snyder-verse, I’ll call it, will end with the Snyder Cut. Don’t expect any spinoffs for Batman or Ben Affleck as Batman or any of that.”
Regardless of how fans may see this finality as negative, Zack himself is truly elated by the prospect of his vision being fully encapsulated. “I want to thank HBO Max and Warner Bros. 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.”
Look for the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League on HBO Max in 2021.
