Production of Justice League Following the release of
Man of Steel in 2013, director
Zack Snyder outlined his vision for the
DC Extended Universe (DCEU), consisting of a five-film arc including
Man of Steel,
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and a
Justice League trilogy. Snyder's original intention was for
Batman v Superman to be the darkest in the franchise, and have subsequent films become lighter in tone. However,
Batman v Superman was poorly received, with criticism for its dark tone, slow pacing, and lack of humor. Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures and Snyder re-evaluated upcoming DCEU films, particularly
Suicide Squad (2016), which had already wrapped principal photography, and
Justice League, which was a month away from filming. Thus, Snyder and screenwriter
Chris Terrio rewrote
Justice League to change its tone. Cinematographer
Fabian Wagner said Snyder wanted to "get away from the stylized, desaturated, super-high contrast looks of other films in the franchise." , the director of
Justice League Principal photography for
Justice League began in April 2016 and wrapped the following December. Months later, multiple cuts of Snyder's
Justice League were shown to Warner Bros. executives, in addition to friends and family of Snyder. A final run-time and
picture lock were achieved, though the cuts had incomplete
visual effects shots and partial audio mixing. Snyder said his multiple cuts were essentially "done," only requiring "a few CG tweaks" for completion.
Forbes contributor and film screenwriter Mark Hughes reported that Snyder's cut was more than 90% complete, while
The Daily Telegraph cited a visual effects expert estimating that Warner Bros. would need another $30–40 million for completion. Snyder began screening his rough versions of
Justice League by February 27, 2017, with studio executives disliking it as they felt the plot was too complex and decided to pivot.
Theatrical version After disapproving of Snyder's direction, Warner Bros. hired
Joss Whedon, who directed the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films
The Avengers (2012) and
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), to rewrite the script and help with extensive
reshoots. Warner Bros. CEO
Kevin Tsujihara mandated that
Justice League runtime could not exceed two hours. Warner Bros. decided not to delay the film partly due to concerns that parent company
AT&T might dissolve the studio in an upcoming
merger which would
later happen in 2022. Snyder was expected to film scenes that Whedon re-wrote, and they were working together to meet Warner Bros.' requests when Snyder's daughter, Autumn Snyder, died in March 2017. Though Snyder was initially open to Whedon rewriting the script, he eventually became more resistant as Warner Bros. began granting Whedon more directing privileges. However, he did not directly challenge it as he and his family were dealing with Autumn's death. Snyder left
Justice League that May, and producer
Deborah Snyder, his wife, left shortly after. A source claimed in February 2018 that Snyder was quietly fired by the studio approximately three months prior to the public announcement of his departure. Whedon later assumed full control over production, although Snyder retained directorial credit. Whedon added nearly 80 pages to the script, and Wagner estimates that Whedon's cut uses only about 10% of the footage that Snyder shot. Composer
Tom Holkenborg completed his film score before being replaced by
Danny Elfman halfway through post-production. The scenes that Whedon wrote or re-shot for the theatrical release featured a brighter tone and more humour, and reduced the level of violence seen in Snyder's darker direction. To meet the mandated runtime, more than 90 minutes of Snyder's footage was removed, but the result still adhered to the basic outline of the story. While the initial cut was poorly received by test audiences, the early screening of Whedon's cut scored as high as
Wonder Woman (2017), so Warner Bros. decided to move forward with it. Later in February 2021, an anonymous Warner Bros. executive stated that even the studio did not like the "stupefying" changes in Whedon's version, they were reluctant to criticize it and thus decided to proceed with it.
Justice League was released theatrically on November 17, 2017. Critics described it as a "Frankenstein" film, identifying it as the work of two different directors with competing visions. After seeing Whedon's version in late 2017, Deborah and executive producer
Christopher Nolan advised Snyder to not watch it, knowing it would "break his heart."
Justice League grossed $657.9 million against an estimated $300 million budget. Against an estimated
break-even point of as much as $750 million,
Deadline Hollywood estimated the film resulted in a net loss of $60 million for Warner Bros. Due to the film's poor performance, Warner Bros. decided to move away from Snyder's vision for a
shared universe of interconnected films and focus on standalone films and solo franchises instead.
#ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement After leaving the project, Snyder subsequently saved the rough version of his cut on a
hard drive, which had not undergone the
post-production process at the time. He kept it as a "memento," so that he could show people or for "snippets" of footage to be included in a documentary, as he thought his version would not be released. Snyder sent an editor in to retrieve materials related to the film on a hard drive. However, he was asked to return them as they were considered to be studio property, but refused to do so as he said it was his "personal use." Sources said that though security was notified, no action was taken as the studio did not expect Snyder would "begin tinkering with an alternate cut of the film." Immediately after the theatrical release of
Justice League, fans created an online petition to release the "Snyder Cut" that gained more than 100,000 signatures. The movement, which used the
hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut on social media, began before fans had any knowledge that Snyder's cut of
Justice League actually existed. The movement had gained traction following the theatrical version's mixed reviews, with fans particularly disliking the film as they assumed Whedon created an inferior film. The circumstances were compared to that of
Superman II (1980):
Richard Donner was able to complete his version of the film, which was released as
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut in 2006. Commentators assumed an alternate cut of
Justice League was inevitable as some of Snyder's previous films had been re-released in extended cuts for home media, such as
Watchmen (2009) and
Batman v Superman, which critics considered an improvement to the theatrical version. Members of the
Justice League cast and crew showing support for the Snyder Cut's release included actors
Ben Affleck,
Gal Gadot,
Jason Momoa,
Ciarán Hinds, and
Ray Fisher, photographer Clay Enos, storyboard artist
Jay Oliva, cinematographer
Fabian Wagner, and Affleck's stunt double Richard Cetrone. Deborah said executive producers Nolan and
Emma Thomas encouraged them to make the Snyder Cut. On the second anniversary of the theatrical release, the cast and crew voiced support through social media. Other film- and comic book-industry figures not related to
Justice League also supported the release of a "Snyder Cut," including filmmakers
Kevin Smith and
Alan Taylor, television producer
Steven S. DeKnight, and comic book writers
Rob Liefeld,
Robert Kirkman and
Jerry Ordway. Members of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement engaged in acts of
fan activism to promote it, with a few fans even contacting Warner Bros. officials. Following the death of Snyder's daughter and his departure from
Justice League, fans from the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement soon began campaigns to raise money for suicide prevention; these campaigns raised over $500,000 for the
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) in donations by February 2021. These efforts garnered praise from Snyder and the AFSP. Ahead of the 2019
San Diego Comic-Con, fans launched a crowdfunding campaign with half of the revenue to be spent for an advertising campaign consisting of billboards and a flying banner ad, while the other half was donated to the AFSP. For a similar campaign at the 2019
New York Comic Con, the movement purchased ad space on two billboards over
Times Square featuring quotes from members of the cast and crew. That December, the movement rented another flying banner ad, this time passing over Warner Bros. Studios and directly asking Sarnoff to release the Snyder Cut. In January 2020, the movement bought four minutes of ad space advocating for the film's release on a digital banner wrapped around the interior of
Riverside Stadium during the
FA Cup.
Reactions Shawn Robbins, chief analyst for
Boxoffice Pro, suggested the size of the movement was too small to make an impact, opining that the film "doesn't seem to be something many outside the die-hard fan base are clamoring to see." Writer Mario F. Robles, based on his industry connections, said Warner Bros. did not trust Snyder's vision and was not willing to spend the money required for its completion. Throughout the movement, various media journalists referred to the Snyder Cut as "fabled" or "mythical." Members of the movement have also been described by various journalists as "toxic" for harassing, threatening, and
cyberbullying those who expressed contrary opinions about the Snyder Cut. Yohana Desta of
Vanity Fair broadly described the act of fans demanding an alternative cut as a "modern pattern of audience demand that is actively making fandoms more toxic," comparing it to the harassment of
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) actress
Kelly Marie Tran. Brandon Katz of
The New York Observer said that the movement was composed of "both toxic DC fans that hurl vitriolic harassment at any and all opposition, and supportive moviegoers that genuinely enjoy Snyder's style and are just hoping to see the conclusion of his trilogy that began with 2013's
Man of Steel. As with any contingent, there are both extremists and level-headed individuals in its ranks." Bob Rehak,
Swarthmore College Associate Professor and Chair of Film and Media Studies, said that fandoms such as #ReleaseTheSnyderCut react strongly when a major change is made to something they enjoy, and that this reaction usually comes from a smaller subsection of the fandom, which "[paints] the whole community with a really broad brush." In July 2022,
Rolling Stone reported that WarnerMedia had discovered via internal investigations that approximately 13% of online activity relating to the Snyder Cut had been deemed "fake" and the result of
Internet bot activities.
Rolling Stone also spoke with more than 20 people involved with both versions of the film, most of whom believe that Snyder was "working to manipulate the ongoing campaign." In September 2018, former
DC Entertainment president
Diane Nelson deleted her
Twitter account after substantial online harassment by members of the movement. Warner Bros. telephone operators, inundated with regular calls about the "Snyder Cut," were trained to treat them as
prank calls.
Revival By March 2019, Snyder stated that a cut of
Justice League did exist and that it was Warner Bros.' decision to release it. That November, an insider claimed Warner Bros. was unlikely to release Snyder's cut, calling such hopes a "pipe dream." Snyder later confirmed by that December that his cut was approximately 214 minutes.
Robert Greenblatt, then chairman of WarnerMedia and head of HBO Max, stated that discussions surrounding the release of Snyder's
Justice League began in late 2019, and lasted a few months. He emphasized Snyder's cut was not finalized, and that Warner Bros. would have to fund its completion while also clarifying issues with film unions. The studio first approached Snyder to release his unfinished cut, but Snyder rejected the option and insisted on either completing or not releasing it, leading Warner Bros. to decide if they would proceed across the next few months. According to Snyder,
WarnerMedia chose to release the Snyder Cut in February 2020, after chairman
Toby Emmerich acknowledged the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement and contacted Snyder. The Snyders invited executives from Warner Bros., HBO Max, and DC to their home to watch a then-assembled
black and white version of the Snyder Cut. Snyder also proposed various ideas for its release, including releasing the cut in an episodic manner. Impressed, the executives decided to proceed with the project. Snyder began to collaborate with the film's original post-production team for completion. Despite the process being compromised by the then-ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic, which was escalating around the time, the Snyders insisted on completing it. Snyder notified the original cast of the undertaking from April and May 2020; according to Snyder, he contacted Fisher first, who initially thought that Snyder was joking. On May 20, 2020, Snyder announced during a Q&A after an online watch party of
Man of Steel that his cut of
Justice League would be released as ''Zack Snyder's Justice League'' on HBO Max in 2021. Greenblatt said WarnerMedia tried to get the news out "as quickly as possible" before HBO Max launched on May 27. Snyder described his cut as "an entirely new thing, and, especially talking to those who have seen the released movie, a new experience apart from that movie." The Snyders felt that being able to finally finish
Justice League would bring them closure, and were excited by the prospect of expanding the film's character development. Greenblatt indicated its completion would be "wildly expensive" and estimated it would cost more than $30 million. In June 2020, Sandra Dewey, president of productions and business operations for WarnerMedia, stated in an interview that they are aiming for an "early to mid-2021" release. By January 2021, Snyder had completed his cut. The announcement of ''Zack Snyder's Justice League
was celebrated by the #ReleasetheSnyderCut movement, with many fans expressing their enthusiasm on social media. Some Snyder fans uploaded videos of them destroying their DVD and Blu-ray copies of the theatrical release. Many industry figures, such as cast members of Justice League'', expressed their gratitude to the fans who supported the release of Snyder's version of the film. However, various journalists expressed concern that WarnerMedia was conceding to fans who engaged in forms of harassment and
trolling during the movement, fearing it would set a negative precedent.
Screen Rant opined that it gave the impression that similar methods of fan activism can influence film studios, networks, and streaming services. In response to this concern, HBO Max CEO Tony Goncalves affirmed the passion of the fandom and denied such claims, stating that as a business, they listen to the consumers' demand.
Additional filming While initial reports indicated that no new material would be filmed, in September 2020, it was revealed that Snyder was preparing to film additional footage, with Affleck and Fisher reprising their roles. As a result, the budget was estimated to have increased to $70 million. Filming began on October 6. Later that month,
Amber Heard,
Jared Leto, and
Joe Manganiello joined the cast to reprise their DCEU roles as
Mera, the
Joker, and
Deathstroke, respectively. Snyder also directed an additional scene with
Ezra Miller as Flash over
Zoom, who was then filming
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) in London. Snyder sent the film's crew drawings and diagrams of how he wanted the scene to look. His video feed played through a stand on a table, enabling him to direct Miller and the crew, who filmed the scene on his behalf. He estimated that only four to five minutes of footage was shot. Heard stated that filming for reshoots had wrapped by that December. The final scene was originally filmed with
John Stewart / Green Lantern portrayed by Wayne T. Carr, but Warner Bros. rejected it as they had other plans for the character. Previous variations of the scene included characters such as Kilowog with John Stewart, Kilowog with
Tomar-Re, and Stewart with Martian Manhunter. Snyder opted to change Kilowog to Martian Manhunter, while rejecting the second idea during post-production in 2017. Ultimately, Snyder chose the third idea and filmed the scene in August 2020. Warner Bros. did not want Stewart to be in the scene, so Snyder decided to compromise with the studio and reshot the scene to only include Martian Manhunter by October 2020. He reshot Affleck's side of the scene as the previous footage was unusable due to lighting issues. Snyder originally wanted to include
Ryan Reynolds, who previously portrayed
Hal Jordan in
Green Lantern (2011), as an "additional lantern... to fill out the corps a bit," but did not contact him.
Differences from the theatrical version While the basic framework of the story is the same, numerous scenes that were removed by Joss Whedon are restored to expand upon the characters,
mythos, and
worldbuilding elements. Teases for upcoming films are also present in Snyder's version. Snyder's version does not use any of the scenes shot by Whedon for his version of
Justice League. Former Warner Bros. executives
Jon Berg and
Geoff Johns, who oversaw the production for Whedon's version, had their credits removed for Snyder's. Snyder stated that his version is not set in the same
continuity as Whedon's, which would remain the
canonical version of the film. However, Jason Momoa said that
Aquaman (2018) takes place after Snyder's version, rather than Whedon's. Similarly,
Wonder Woman director
Patty Jenkins said that no DC director considers Whedon's
Justice League canonical, and that she had worked with Snyder to ensure
Wonder Woman maintained continuity with his film. Despite these sentiments, commentators noted various contradictions between
Aquaman and ''Zack Snyder's Justice League'' relating to
Mera's backstory. Additionally,
The Flash (2023) acknowledges the events of ''Zack Snyder's Justice League''.
Follow-up movements Following the release of the film, fans expressed their appreciation on social media. Fans soon began a new movement, #RestoreTheSnyderverse, advocating for Warner Bros. to allow Snyder to complete his originally planned
Justice League trilogy. Another movement, #ReleasetheAyerCut, also started trending as well, with fans advocating for Warner Bros. to release director
David Ayer's original cut of
Suicide Squad (2016). In July 2022,
DC artist
Jim Lee, who assisted Zack Snyder in the creation of the initial five-film plan, confirmed at
San Diego Comic-Con that there were no plans to make more DC projects with Snyder or develop sequels to his
Justice League cut. == Music ==