Justice League
"Snyder-Cut" brings light into the dark DC universe
Three of the six members of the Justice League: The Flash (Ezra Miller, left), Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot).
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From March 18th, DC fans can look forward to a double dose of justice. Then the "Snyder Cut" from "Justice League" appears.
A tragic genesis finally finds its happy ending around three and a half years after it was written. Zack Snyder (55), who had to step down as director of the superhero blockbuster "Justice League" in 2017 due to a blow to his family, now has the opportunity to present his vision of the film to the world thanks to the "Snyder Cut".
In Germany, this will be granted to him from March 18, at the same time as the US launch via the Sky Ticket streaming service. There, where Amazon Diana Prince (Gal Gadot, 35) found a home with "Wonder Woman 1984" due to a lack of open cinemas. How exactly "Zack Snyder's Justice League" starts in the DC Universe, why the extraordinary new version came about and what fans can expect from the film, which is now twice as long, can be read here. Warning: This is followed by spoilers for Snyder's previous film "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".
When threatened, great heroes are needed – that's what it's all about
Since Superman (Henry Cavill, 37) lost his life fighting for humanity in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", chaos has reigned on the streets of Metropolis. Without the superman as a symbol of justice, crime senses its chance to recapture the streets. The aging Bruce Wayne alias Batman (Ben Affleck, 48) and the Amazon Wonder Woman have no chance of fighting on all fronts at the same time without him. More knights of law are needed, especially when a powerful henchman named Steppenwolf shows up.
He's after three mysterious boxes, powerful artifacts with which he wants to plunge the earth and all its inhabitants into eternal gloom. To stop him, Wayne runs a desperate hero casting. He's heard of a lightning-fast good-for-nothing, as well as a curmudgeon curmudgeon who is supposed to talk to fish. And then there is a young man who, after an accident, is more of a machine than a human. Will this unequal bunch of outsiders be enough to stop the pure evil?
Reluctance to withdraw
Film studio Warner Bros. had given Zack Snyder the confidence early on to bring the DC universe to the screen after his idea. In 2013 he began his journey as the director of the Superman film "Man of Steel", followed in 2016 by "Batman v Superman" and a year later by the Justice League. At least that's the plan. Because the tragic death of Snyder's daughter Autumn made it impossible for the father of the extended family (Snyder has eight children, half of them adopted) to complete the project.
In the person of Joss Whedon (56), another director completed the film. He made numerous re-shoots, changed the basic tonality of the strip in post-production and massively shortened the playing time. But it is well known that not only too many cooks spoil the broth, but also too many visionaries spoil the film diet. The theatrical version of "Justice League" released in 2017 did not seem balanced, gave its characters too little space to develop and literally rushed towards the finale. The reviews were accordingly mixed at the time.
A specialist in director's cuts
For a variety of reasons, even masters of directing came late to bring their vision of one of their works to the public. Sometimes the intended narrative style was too cryptic for the film studio ("Once Upon A Time In America") or the intended ending too devastating ("Blade Runner", "Brazil"). Other times, the cinema audience should be asked for less meat, for example in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy or the anti-war film "Apocalypse Now", which in their "Extended Versions" were each long enough for two films.
Peter Jackson's (59) three "Lord of the Rings" films are a good example in relation to "Justice League" because Snyder's DC companions now have a proud playing time of four hours. Compared to the theatrical version from 2017 with 120 minutes, the home theater fight for justice has doubled. Even before "Justice League", Snyder proved that when making subsequent changes, he does not rely on mere quantity instead of quality. About the same with his highly acclaimed directorial debut in 2004, the new edition of the horror classic "Dawn of the Dead". A Director's Cut was published about ten minutes longer from the zombie hunt, which was mainly devoted to the development of the characters.
There are even clearer parallels to the "Snyder Cut" from "Justice League" in "Batman v Superman" and especially in his dark comic film adaptation "Watchmen" from 2009. In the theatrical version it had already over 160 minutes, for the "Ultimate Cut" from 2019, Snyder then added almost an hour on top. In both examples he used the time gained to work out the motives and backgrounds of his protagonists and gave them even more opportunity to shine in one or the other additional action sequence. With a six-man "Justice League" brand of heroes and in the eternally gloomy Gotham City, certainly not a bad thing.