Changing a movie that’s already been released causes many fascinating challenges. In the case of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, one of those challenges is the fact that other DCEU movies took what happened in the theatrical cut as gospel. So where does that leave the “Snyder Cut”? Snyder himself has a few thoughts.
“The theatrical version of Justice League is tighter in continuity to what [Warner Bros.] is doing now in the DCU,” Snyder said in a new interview with Beyond the Trailer. “But because of this and because Warner Bros. has done the kind and amazing gesture of saying ‘Zack, go finish your vision,’ it’s going to be divergent in some ways, just by its nature. And I think that’s a thing you want because it allows more, and more is more.”
In particular, Snyder mentions James Wan’s billion-dollar hit Aquaman, which takes place after Justice League, as well as the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984, which is set before but based on the character’s previous two appearances and will at least partially be beholden to the events that occur in the theatrical cut of Justice League. Shazam also exists with that film in mind, though Snyder doesn’t mention it.
To better explain how that’ll work, Snyder compared this new version of Justice League to kind of a limited run of a comic where a specific artist or writer takes over, does their own thing, and then leaves. “The power of DC and one of its cool strengths is this sort of multiverse concept,” Snyder said. “And also they put filmmakers first and say ‘You know what guys? We want to hear your individual voices. Take these characters and do your run...in sort of the great tradition of comic book writing.’”
That’s more the case now—with films like Matt Reeves’ The Batman and the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League—than it was with movies like Suicide Squad or Batman v Superman, but the change has certainly worked. Films like Shazam and Aquaman have become big hits, while others, like Birds of Prey, have taken big, interesting risks, without being bogged down by those other films.
But though the Snyder Cut won’t have direct continuity with the movies that follow, the director does explain he feels his run of Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League will have a continuity of its own. “What you’ll see with Justice League is there’s continuity across those three movies that’s really [cohesive],” Snyder said. “That’s my main focus, to satisfy that narrative structure.”
There’s much more about the film in the Beyond the Trailer interview, so head there if you’re curious. Snyder also promises to reveal more information, and a clip, at a fan-run event called “Justice Con” this weekend. You can check that out on the Justice Con YouTube.
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