Bigger Than a Movie

“You will give the people an ideal to strive towards. They will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.” – Jor-El 

It’s the second March in a disastrous year that has seen very few glimpses of light. Yet, for fans of director Zack Snyder and what he began with his vision in 2013’s Man of Steel, this week brings something that the film industry has never seen before.

I know and understand, eyes already started rolling at the mention of Snyder and his work, inside and outside the DC film universe. He is a director known by his critics for his flashy visuals and lack of humanistic characters. My purpose in writing this, is not to convince you to find out what you’re missing, but instead to address why his work getting a second chance is bigger than any particular movie.

Zack Snyder was tasked to launch a new cinematic DC movie franchise beginning with Superman. He created this along with wife and producer, Deborah Snyder, co-writer David Goyer, and executive producer Christopher Nolan. This spectacular challenge came just one year after Nolan’s own beloved Dark Knight trilogy was complete and Marvel’s massive team-up, The Avengers, which blew away the box office.

Man of Steel was released with a mixed critical reception and as a mild box office success. (You can find my contrary review here). In short, it’s what I consider to be a near-perfect origin story complete with an amazing score, a great cast, and layered themes.

Warner Brothers/DC knew they were behind the storytelling curve and had Snyder begin work on the follow-up, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It wasn’t the right move to jump into a team-up movie right off the “bat”, but WB so badly wanted to catch up to where Marvel was. Snyder brought in Batman and the first cinematic Wonder Woman to join Superman. 

Warner Brothers’s primary concern with Dawn of Justice was getting enough “butts in seats”. They cut down the final runtime of the movie from a hefty three hours down to 2 ½ hours. Batman v Superman released to disastrous critical reception and audiences scratching their heads as to clear storytelling gaps and a continued heavy tone of the franchise. (You can read my once again contrary review here)

WB/DC allowed Snyder to release his three-hour Ultimate Cut on Blu-ray (which is incredibly superior to the theatrical version) a few months later. However, the damage was done. The studio lusted for a better Rotten Tomatoes score and for the billion dollars Marvel movies seemed to be making. 

Snyder still had a deal with the studio to complete the beginnings of DC’s extended universe. He was a producer on each DC property and Justice League was set to release just 20 months after Batman v Superman. Just as he was finishing his shoot for the hopeful 2017 team-up blockbuster, the poor reviews for BvS were arriving.

WB/DC panicked. Their foundation for the next two decades of movies wasn’t received as well as they’d like. They lost faith in Snyder’s vision. They pushed back on his assembly cut and sent in “consultants” to interfere in his third DC effort, hoping to guarantee more box office money and the love of critics (who already made up their minds). He shot just over four hours of footage with the intent to cut it back to a more accessible movie. WB didn’t want it to be anything over two hours, to once again get more showings in theaters and more money in their pockets. 

On a parallel note, Warner’s alleged interference in each of their DC directors’ visions compromised each movie at this same time, sabotaging the edit of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, James Wan’s story for Aquaman, and the third act of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman. Director Rick Fumikaya leftThe Flash and Ben Affleck departed the director’s chair and starring role in The Batman.

It was at this time when Zack and Deborah’s adopted daughter, Autumn took her own life. The couple tried to work through the pain but quickly came to realize that “Their fight and spirit was needed at home, with their other children, and with each other, rather than in a losing battle with a powerful studio.” (Vanity Fair)

WB/DC jumped on this. They had already brought in Avengers director Joss Whedon to lighten up the movie by adding his brand of jokes, and they officially hired him as the new director. He began reshooting most of the movie immediately. Meanwhile, the studio’s PR team did their best to look like they were sympathetic to Snyder’s family during this tragedy, but were also heavily boosting Whedon, even going so far as to say Zack hand-picked Whedon to finish the movie.

Justice League was released in November 2017 and based on hindsight, the studio didn’t get anything it wanted. Their two-hour theatrical cut, now going by the moniker “Josstice League” was once again poorly received by critics AND was considered a box office flop.

Not only that, but the small group of fans of the original vision were disillusioned with what was released. (read my review here) Snyder’s Man of Steel would never get to see character or thematic completion, as Justice League was a haphazard garbage pile of inappropriate jokes, heroes acting completely out of character (i.e. Affleck’s Batman) and the worst CG this side of The Lawnmower Man. 

WB wouldn’t touch another JL sequel with a 10 foot kryptonite spear. They scrambled to launch solo films with inconsistent quality, but were seemingly just making it up as they went along.

It started with a tweet. One fan voicing what I, among thousands of others, were feeling when they saw Whedon’s reheated Avengers. He simply tweeted “releasethesnydercut” in November 2017. The downside of Twitter is that a hashtag can gain traction and start a movement. The upside of Twitter is that a hashtag can gain traction and start a movement. 

Meanwhile, Zack Snyder kept his silence on what happened, possibly due to an NDA or that it was still too fresh. He was urged by his wife and Christopher Nolan to never watch the theatrical cut. He was questioned about it constantly for years and still showed restraint about whether his cut would ever be seen. 

It wasn’t out of the question that Director’s Cuts can be released. His own BvS had a Director’s Cut. Also Superman II got a Donner Cut 25 years after the original release. Although that cut was left unfinished and only slightly changed story elements.

Though it was unheard of that a director would be allowed to release such a contradictory movie to the canonical movie released in theaters. He was no longer working for the studio, with no official word if he quit or was fired. WB/DC was happy to move forward with projects like WW84 and Birds of Prey and ignored the fans’ constant outcry to release the Snyder cut.

In the social media sphere, the nonstop fan campaigns continued. The original hashtag trended in November 2019 (two years after JL’s release), with over 1 Million tweets dedicated to it. Meanwhile, clout chasing critics (often gate-keepers of the geek movie world) laughed at any attempt to wish the Snyder Cut into existence.

Being a fan of the world-building Snyder started, expanding on the DC characters I have held dear since I was running around my house wearing Superman undies and a towel cape tied to my neck, I hoped against hope that maybe one day I’d see even an unfinished cut of the movie. Knowing how much WB/DC worked against Snyder, I doubted it though.

This social media movement became larger than just a fanbase wanting a possibly better version of a substandard movie. Yes, the hashtag became a meme utilized by several cosplayers at comic conventions for years. Though, supporters used their time, effort, and money to unite in a greater cause. Within a short amount of time, these fans raised over a half million dollars for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in dedication to Autumn Snyder.

It’s rare for a fanbase to do more than sign a useless petition on Change.org, but this had become bigger than anyone expected. Beyond the twitter troll debates, beyond the rivalry between comic book companies, THIS is how earnest fans should show their support. They should unite for a cause that affects far more than fictional characters in tights.

It goes without saying that we’ve all been affected by suicide of loved ones. This is a very real issue that should be openly addressed. No one suffering with these thoughts should have to bear the weight alone. This year, especially, has been so detrimental when it comes to stability, and we can all do our part to help those who need it most.

Two months into the pandemic of 2020 and none of us knew just what we were in for. The world was in pain and every week brought new strife and real world contention. On a more shallow note, every movie had been inevitably delayed, and entertainment as we knew it was going through lasting changes.

In May 2020, Zack Snyder held a Man of Steel watch party, in which he gave director’s commentary, similar to the feature DVDs used to have. Fans always hoped an event like this was going to be an announcement, but he previously had a BvS watch party with no grand announcement.

As soon as the movie finished, Snyder opened up the video conference to fans with questions. However, he brought a surprise guest with him. A long-silent Henry Cavill joined the call, which left fans holding their breath. The Q&A was about to wrap up, with one last question allowed. While clearly a planned question, Snyder was asked if there was any news about a possible Snyder Cut of Justice League. After some hesitation, Snyder chose this time to make the announcement fans had hoped for. He showed a promotional image of “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” releasing in 2021 on HBO Max. 

Suffice it to say, fans erupted in happiness. It was almost exhausting. Almost three years had passed since the sloppy Justice League bombed in theaters. Three years of pleading, defending, and wishing for a true follow-up to movies and characters an ever-growing group of people held dear, was being financed and allowed an actual release. It doesn’t hurt that AT&T purchased Warner Brothers and was able to reverse many of their decisions creatively and financially. 

Now, after nearly four years of hoping to see an eventual movie, fans will finally be able to view this four-hour cut airing on an aspiring streaming service and select IMAX theaters. Snyder was given a decent chunk of movie to film a new scene and complete special effects for his original assembly cut. 

Yes, the studio gave in because of one reason. They’ll make guaranteed money and help kickstart HBO Max as a go-to streaming service. This new version may not win any new fans. Snyder has a style and it’s, for some strange reason, very divisive.

The reason this undertaking is so major is that a studio listened to their fans. They paid attention to the ones that have been dedicated to seeing something else, something better than the dreck that was given. 

The reason behind this post and the sole reason I’m happy about the reality of the cut, comes down to second chances and closure.

A family tragedy crushed Zack and Deborah. Their hearts were broken. As anyone knows, loss is never fully recovered from. On the movie front, their franchise culmination never happened. Though, random people from around the world united and put their support behind a case that was important to the Snyders. The support for the AFSP inspired them to get involved once again. As Deborah said in Vanity Fair, “This fanbase has saved lives. As much as they wanted something for themselves, they’ve come together for this amazing cause. You feel so helpless trying to help someone, and you don’t know what to do. It’s literally life or death. And I felt like we didn’t really know where to turn.”

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is just a movie that currently won’t have a follow-up. And it may never need one. So much has already been accomplished. Zack Snyder has been given the historic chance to complete what he filmed. He will get closure on a project that grief forced him to leave behind. This is his catharsis, dedicated to his daughter. That alone, is bigger than a comic book rivalry. It’s bigger than a hashtag. It’s bigger than a movie.