Zack Snyder may be getting his dream of his Justice League in theaters after all.
The director has shared his plans for special theatrical showings of his four-hour version of the movie, which could become a modern cinematic event.
The new cut
It has already become legendary in Hollywood how Zack Snyder was forced to drop out of Justice League’s final filming after a horrible family tragedy.
Joss Whedon took over for rewrites and reshoots that turned Snyder’s film into a product closer to the MCU. It was also ravaged by critics and fans and disappointed at the box office.
After years of fan push, Snyder was finally given the okay (and $70 million) to reshoot and re-edit the movie into his true vision for the DCEU.
The results have been notable. While critics are divided on how good it actually is, most agree it is an improvement over the 2017 version and builds up characters such as Cyborg and the Flash.
Now, Snyder has shared with CinemaBlend how he has plans to release the movie in theaters later this year.
“They have given me a handful of charity screenings in IMAX. So as we go forward, I’m going to do a handful of charity screenings — a couple in color, a couple in black and white — and that’s my plan. As we head toward the fall, with the Nerd Queens, we really want to do Zack Con Two, or Snyder Con Two.
“The idea there would be to do an IMAX weekend where we would do Man of Steel, BvS and Justice League as sort of a three-day event and try and get as many of the people who made the movie and the cast and whoever will help us out as a huge charity event. A huge kind of fan gathering with cosplay and the whole… like a real celebration of the whole thing.”
The theatrical differences
There have been clues of Snyder wanting to release the film in theaters all along. Filming it in 4:3 aspect ratio hinted the film could be shown in IMAX format.
Also, Snyder had previously announced that the movie would have a special intermission designed for a theatrical release, which would be necessary for a film over four hours long.
Clearly, Snyder is hoping that a big-screen experience will enhance the movie, which has been praised for much better action sequences and a larger scale for comic book flair.
While these screenings are meant for charity, it’s possible Warner Bros could be planning some regular ones as the profits would help offset the $70 million spent on Snyder completing the film.
As for the audience, given over 1.7 million viewers in the U.S. tuned into the film’s premiere and the excitement over this cut, many would likely be willing to spend money to see it on the big screen.
A possibility is for one showing to be timed for the in-person San Diego Comic-Con scheduled for November to make that a bigger event.
While Warner Bros says there are no plans to continue the “Snyderverse,” at least the director will finally get the wish for fans to enjoy his DCEU spectacle on the big screen as intended.
Justice League the Snyder Cut now streaming on HBO Max.