Anyone familiar with the torturous production of Justice League will know that it went through long and painful reshoots. After Warner Bros. removed original director Zack Snyder from the project, Joss Whedon took over and spent two months reshooting scenes at a reported cost of $25 million. The end product was a film that pleased nobody, flopping at the box office and receiving a full-on critical mauling.
Since then, a group of dedicated and impressively organized fans have been petitioning for the original Snyder cut to be released. And lately, it’s looking like they might get their wish. Snyder himself has given the project the official title of Zack Snyder’s Justice League and has said that it’s 214 minutes long in total. But, as has been stated multiple times before, the footage still needs a lot of work.
Most assumed that this would involve completing VFX shots and other post-production work. But now Snyder has hinted that he may even consider some further reshoots, years after the film premiered. The hint came written on a prize he’s offering for a recent fan poster competition. As you can see below, it’s a clapperboard from Justice League and on the front’s a scene description, reading: “something cool with Batman, Superman, [Lois], or Martian Manhunter.”
On the back, meanwhile, it says:
“Please extend to the bearer of this slate the right to pass all security protocols and the permission to operate this motion picture scene and sync marker on the set of any additional photography for the motion picture known as Zack Snyder’s Justice League in the unlikely and purely speculative event that such photography is needed.”
It’s hard to tell how serious Snyder is here, as you’d have to imagine that calling back Henry Cavill or Ben Affleck to shoot further scenes as Superman and Batman would be a tough ask. Both actors have left the DCEU after being treated rather shabbily by Warner Bros., and neither of them seemed happy with the first set of reshoots back in 2017. Plus, I don’t think the reported $10 million that WB have offered Snyder to finish the movie would cover it. But then again, they may be willing to do it just to help the filmmaker out and to ensure that people see their movie as it was intended to be shown.
Personally, I still think it’s pretty unlikely that things will come to fruition here. In fact, there’s a proverb about horses and stable doors that comes to mind. But right now, you can’t deny that the Snyder Cut feels closer than it ever has before. Let’s hope it makes it over the finish line.
