It’s been three and a half years since the theatrical cut of Justice League crawled into cinemas and was promptly eviscerated by fans and critics alike. But, as we all know, that’s not where this story ends.
After a truly monumental fan campaign to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, Warner Bros. finally greenlit the project and gave original director Zack Snyder the budget for reshoots. We’ve known for some time that the Justice League Director’s Cut was coming to HBO Max in March, but we now have a date for folks to circle on their calendars: March 18th, 2021.
The date was announced by Snyder himself, who tweeted three new posters for the movie, titled “Fallen,” “Risen,” and “Reborn.” It’s worth taking a minute to examine the symbolism behind these, too.
The “Fallen” poster shows the Justice League symbol smashed and half-destroyed, and it doesn’t seem like a huge stretch to see this as a commentary on what Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. did to the theatrical cut (and possibly a reference to the way that cast and crew were treated during Whedon’s reshoots). Meanwhile, the “Risen” poster shows the League’s banner rising from the wreckage during a sunrise, visually quoting a classic image from the 90s Death of Superman arc, and “Reborn,” with its images of Snyder’s signature on film reel cans, is self-explanatory.
The four-hour behemoth coming in March is sure to be scrutinized and debated like few other superhero projects. Snyder is a divisive figure and the release will be followed by endless think-pieces about the quality of the movie and what it signifies. For my part, I’m optimistic. Everything we’ve seen and heard about the Justice League Director’s Cut makes it sound like an idiosyncratic, thoughtful and unique superhero experience. And hey, it’s lockdown and it’s not like my schedule doesn’t have time to fit this in.