Zack Snyder talks of the 'pressure' to get his 'Justice League' cut right
Unlike many directors, who have spent lockdown twiddling their thumbs as productions shut down, Zack Snyder has spent his re-cutting a major blockbuster.
After myth of his version of Justice League became reality, Snyder will drop his cut of the 2017 flop on HBO Max some time in 2021.
Speaking to Grace Randolph's Beyond The Trailer show, he detailed some of the process he's been going through to bring his original vision to the screen.
Read more: Ray Fisher accuses Joss Whedon of being abusive
“I think really the big pressure on me is just for it [Justice League] to be exactly true to itself,” he said.
“And I know that sounds obvious but we as storytellers and as filmmakers a lot of times there’s a lot of different powers that push and move and change what you’re doing as you’re doing it.
“But I think with this process and this project, it really is an amazing opportunity just to, and what I think the fans want, is just a very pure and exact version of the movie.”
The cut, which he confirmed will be likely in excess of 214 minutes long, is massively longer than the originally released movie, which was 120 minutes, leading to some speculation that it could emerge as a mini-series instead.
“Where the movie falls, it starts to represent its own path,” he added, when asked where the movie will sit in the continuity of the DC Extended Universe.
“It's kind of separate now from the DC universe in continuity. It's divergent in that way. And I think that's a good thing.”
For background, Snyder exited the movie during production, following the tragic death of his daughter.
Avengers director Joss Whedon was bought in to finish the movie, but ended up shooting a considerable amount of additional footage, sending the movie's budget barreling to $300 million.
Read more: Henry Cavill hopes to play Superman again
It was panned by critics, and since then, Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg in the movie, has slated Whedon for alleged 'abusive' behaviour on set.
In a tweet on 1 July, he said: “Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable. He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability>Entertainment.”
Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.
He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg.
Accountability>Entertainment— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 1, 2020
Though the controversy wasn't discussed in the Beyond The Trailer interview, Snyder did talk about Cyborg's much expanded role in his cut.
“We [always] wanted to make Cyborg the heart of the movie,” he said. “Cyborg goes on a huge journey... he represents in a lot of ways what it is to create community. We made this movie in 2016, and I just think that those themes are more important now than ever.
“To be able to work with Ray and that character is so important.”
Snyder is also a producer on the forthcoming Wonder Woman 1984, due out on 2 October.
You can check the trailer below...
