The Justice League Snyder Cut Has Gone Out of Control 

Between the ongoing Ray Fisher scandal, ballooning costs, and supposed reshoots, nothing about the Snyder Cut is going to plan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6512XKKNkU

Due to family tragedy back in 2017, Zack Snyder had to leave post-production of the filming of Justice League resulting in director Joss Whedon (Avengers) to finish the movie. Forced to meet its expected studio release date, Whedon ended up reshooting a large portion of the Justice League to enact his vision of what was a more entertaining film than Snyder’s version; something which many die-hard fans have blamed for ruining the story. Unhappy about the product, fans had taken to the internet demanding a Snyder cut reshoot of the Justice League.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShZulYSIIhA

Initially teased in Harley Quinn back in early May, it was revealed only weeks later that a Snyder Cut of Justice League was actually happening in what’s to now be a four-hour four-part event for HBO Max. With a small(er) 20 million dollar budget, the film will be one of the service’s biggest series on the platform to date, along with Zack Snyder’s final foreseeable product for DC depending on how well the movie is received. Indeed, Snyder is putting everything on the line in executing his vision with this one. He has also gone on the record with just how much he hated Whedon’s Justice League, his director’s cut containing nothing from the Joss Whedon’s reshoots.

How It’s All Coming Apart

This was the movie’s original intention. What’s actually happening, is that the Snyder cut is frankly, killing DC from the inside. Partially, because of miscommunication on all fronts, but more importantly, because of the ongoing Ray Fisher scandal happening right after the insanely massive DC layoffs across the board.

Originally an accusation of abuse conducted by Joss Whedon on set, the matter was investigated by internal investigators, though not to Fisher’s liking. In particular, Fisher has called out several big-name DC executives besides Whedon, the biggest of whom, is Geoff Johns the former Chief Creative Officer of DC and the creator of DC’s Stargirl.

It should also be noted that all of the above-condemned parties no longer work as executive figureheads for DC. In fact, Fisher himself doesn’t seem to have a list of demands beyond repetitively requesting: to investigate more. Making matters more complicated for the studio, this month, Fisher has also gained the support of Jason Mamoa, the star of DC’s Aquaman.

Yet, despite the investigation, nothing seems to have been found regarding the abuse allegations nor is coming out into the open. I myself don’t know who to support or believe, given that there’s no evidence of anything just yet, and that all the accused parties have already departed from their positions of power. The studio has also gone out of its way to discredit Fisher, mostly by portraying him as an actor unhinged about losing his opportunity to be a star, given his scenes being cut from Justice League — his first major movie. It’s also sketchy as to why none of the rest of the cast is in support of Fisher outside Momoa, especially Gal Gadot, whose support would bring the issue to light.

Honestly, if this is an empty claim, Ray Fisher has effectively ended his career and it’ll be hard for any studio to trust or work with him. If it’s not, and there is abuse or worse to be found, this will effectively tarnish the DC brand, though the company may be able to claim damage control, having already axed said accused executives (though not Geoff Johns, who still works for the company albeit in a smaller role, which is where this issue is complicated).

Warner Studios has recently made a decree stating that Ray Fisher’s Cyborg is going to have more of his omitted scenes restored for the new Justice League. Yet, all of this comes at an unforeseen additional production cost, the likes of which I’m not entirely certain the studios have factored in, given the tumultuous relationship between Fisher and the studio. At the same time, Warner keeps releasing confusing statements that Fisher has gone on record to refute. The studio has also given the press empty promises, such as the return of Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck (who is leaving the franchise after this movie due to his own fallout with Warner Brothers), and Henry Cavill, the last of whom has already outright said: No.

Oh the Irony, Zack Snyder

It’s predicted that the movie has inflated from an originally projected $20 million to a now $70 million production cost between the added effects, score, and reshooting. The re-cut, likewise, does not factor in marketing costs, which could easily raise this film’s budget over $100 million. The cost of an entirely new big-budget film.

The ‘Snyder Cut’ will be a 4-hour episode presentation for HBO Max. The release date is expected in 2021.