Rarely do online petitions accomplish anything, but the one to release a Zack Snyder director’s cut of ‘Justice League’ has gained a lot of traction and has so far earned over 100,000 signatures, including endorsements from Richard Cetrone, Ben Affleck’s Batman stunt double and Fabian Wagner, the film’s cinematographer. It begs the question, what do these insiders know that we don’t?
Snyder has remained mum. And while he hasn’t made an official statement in regard to this petition, he did “Like” a post on Instagram advocating it:
Snyder, of course, directed the bulk of ‘Justice League’ but departed the project after principle photography to cope with a tragic death in the family. ‘Avengers’-helmer Joss Whedon, who had just made a deal with Warner Brothers to write and direct a ‘Batgirl’ movie, took over post-production and reshoots, the point of which were mainly to lighten the mood, but it is also said that Whedon changed the film’s ending. Roberto Mata Gutiérrez, the creator of the change.org petition, wants to see what Snyder originally envisioned for the film. The petition also calls for Warner Brothers to restore the original score by Junkie XL, as opposed to the rather generic soundtrack by Danny Elfman, that replaced it.
Some felt the result was disjointed, with the Whedon quips standing out too much. Gutiérrez and others were upset that ‘Justice League’ did not satisfactorily bookend the “trilogy” that Snyder began with ‘Man of Steel’ and carried into ‘Batman V Superman’. But considering that ‘BvS’ was universally trashed, that doesn’t seem like a mystery. Why bother continue telling the same story that viewers obviously hated? In that regard, ‘Justice League’ works as a fresh start, detached from the first two plodding installments.
But there are many who would like to see what Snyder originally intended for ‘JL’:
I can confirm from a direct source that a Zack Snyder Cut of #JusticeLeague exists with mostly finished VFX & Junkie XL’s score.
— Sheraz Farooqi (@SherazFarooqi_) November 22, 2017
Guys, I have to say I am sure, deadly sure, there's a director cut #JusticeLeague exist, with VFX &even the score……it exists. It's not just a longer or better version of the film. There's a real final chapter of the trilogy out there.
We have to fight for it. https://t.co/AZEQML9Vqm— FIONA_#ReleaseTheSnyderCut (@fukujang0627) November 21, 2017
If you want to join the “fight,” you can sign the change.org petition here.
Warner Brothers has already released extended versions of ‘BvS’ and ‘Suicide Squad’ on blu-ray, so this goal may be more easily attainable than not.
What did you think of ‘Justice League’? Would you prefer to to see Synder’s version?