Now playing in theaters across the globe, Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon’s Justice League has been dogged by mediocre reviews ever since its release on November 17th. It looks like things will only get worse before they get better, too, what with analysts claiming the pic will now limp miserably toward a $700 million box office tally, despite initial estimations projecting a billion-dollar home run for the suits at Warner Bros.
But there is an S-shaped light at the end of the tunnel – and no, we’re not talking about the Man of Steel, but rather Zack Snyder, whose cut is reportedly “much longer” than Justice League‘s theatrical version. Not only that, but it’s said to feature more cameos, too. Obviously, there’s an intense demand from the fanbase for Warner Bros. to release it – including a massive petition online – but so far, the studio’s remained silent in regards to their plans.
And while we can’t say for sure, perhaps that silence is simply because a Director’s Cut just doesn’t exist. At least, that’s what one of the film’s VFX artists would have us believe, as the individual, who chose to remain anonymous, hosted a Reddit AMA over the weekend and claimed that there is no Snyder version of Justice League lying around.
Though Reddit moderators have confirmed the VFX artist’s legitimacy, we’d still suggest taking this with a grain of salt. Especially because a fan, one who’s been very vocal in petitioning for a Director’s Cut, has come forth today saying that not only does an alternate version exist, but that she has proof of it and will release that proof this coming week.
Now, before you question why we should believe a clearly biased fan over someone who actually worked on Justice League, it’s important to remember a few things. Firstly, the aforementioned petition has been supported by Snyder himself. Not only that, but the VFX artist mentioned that some of the footage was worked on by a different studio and as such, he may not be totally in the know, since not all of the work was done by him and his company.
Finally, and perhaps most telling of all, is both the film’s cinematographer and one of Affleck’s stuntmen have voiced their interest in seeing a Director’s Cut, while a number of respected journalists have claimed they’ve seen lots of Snyder’s footage which didn’t appear in the theatrical version. As such, we know that, at the very least, there are a ton of deleted scenes lying around. Whether or not we’ll ever see them inserted back into the movie though is another question entirely.
At the end of the day, it’s highly likely that this person claiming to have proof is just an obsessive fan, but it’s hard to deny the evidence pointing to a Director’s Cut being a real thing. And even if it is incomplete and would need additional work and money to finish off, it’d be in the studio’s best interest to do so. That’s because much like the Ultimate Edition of Batman V Superman before it, it’ll open up another stream of revenue for WB. And lord knows they need it now, considering Justice League may wind up losing $100 million when all is said and done.
