Zack Snyder Likes Fan Petition For Justice League Director Cut

Zack Snyder has liked a social media post promoting the online petition calling for Warner Bros. to release his director’s cut of Justice League. In the aftermath of the DC Extended Universe team-up film’s premiere, there has been much discussion over how much of Snyder’s original vision was altered by reshoots overseen by Joss Whedon. When one carefully analyzes the situation, it’s clear the movie was dramatically changed, with much of Snyder’s footage slashed. The end result was a mess of a film that tried to balance two contrasting styles while ushering in a new age for the franchise.

The studio’s meddling in the final product (including the two-hour runtime mandate), didn’t sit well with many who saw it, and fans of Snyder quickly wrote up a Change.org petition requesting WB to restore his initial version. Typically, movements like this don’t gain much traction, but the Snyder Justice League petition has gone viral, amassing more than 100,000 signatures since it was first posted. Many moviegoers are in support of the cause, and that includes one high-profile person who was very involved in Justice League‘s development.

On Instagram, Roberto Mata Gutiérrez (who started the Snyder petition) shared a screenshot of Vero user @fionaDCpositive sharing a link to the petition on the social media platform. What’s most interesting here is that Snyder’s verified Vero account is one of the 75 “likes” the post had accumulated at the time the screen grab was taken. You can see the photographic evidence for yourself in the space below:



Snyder becomes the latest member of the Justice League crew to publicly support the petition, following Ben Affleck’s stunt double, Richard Cetrone and the movie’s cinematographer, Fabian Wagner. This is undoubtedly a huge development for fans of the DCEU, several of whom were curious to see where Snyder’s trilogy was headed after last year’s Batman V Superman, and it will be interesting to see what (if any) ramifications this has on WB’s decision making in the future. While it initially seemed unlikely a Snyder cut of Justice League existed, the latest word is that one is very much out there, so perhaps it will be part of a Blu-ray release. Several deleted scenes were left on the cutting room floor in order to trim the theatrical edition down to under two hours, meaning entire subplots and character moments were lost. Reports indicate Snyder’s version ran close to three hours long and further developed elements that were arguably undercooked.

Around the time Justice League came out, Snyder told fans he hadn’t seen anything from the film following his decision to step away due to a personal tragedy, and that has unlikely changed in the week since. While Snyder could very well end up liking the movie if he does watch it (his son Jett found it enjoyable despite the flaws), it isn’t surprising he’s found a soft spot for this petition. He may have taken a divisive approach to handling icons like Batman and Superman, but Snyder is a longtime fan of the characters and dedicated several years of his life to establishing a DCEU that wasn’t afraid to tackle social commentary and themes that are all the more relevant today. Of course he, the artist, would want viewers to see the Justice League he intended to release, and he’s appreciative fans are so passionate.

KEY RELEASE DATES
Justice League release date: Nov 17, 2017
Aquaman release date: Dec 21, 2018
Shazam! release date: Apr 5, 2019
Wonder Woman 2 release date: Nov 1, 2019
Cyborg release date: Apr 3, 2020
Green Lantern Corps. release date: Jul 24, 2020