Regardless of how hard it can be to find reliable performance numbers for streaming services, especially HBO Max,Zack Snyder’s Justice Leaguewas considered a resounding success for Warner Bros., at least as much of a success as a director’s cut from a three-and-a-half-year film can be. Indeed, redos are not a common thing in Hollywood withJustice Leaguebeing the first movie ever to have another go at it.
At the heart of this lied the persistence of fans campaigning for so long under the#ReleaseTheSnyderCuttrend which quickly took onto the real world, after Snyder’s media appearances constantly revealed not only the Snyder Cut’s existence but also the many rumors that spoke of how filming had gone downunder Joss Whedon, especially for Gal Gadot.
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A Snyder Cut was out there, and it couldn’t possibly be worse than Whedon’s 2017Justice Leagueso avid DC fans snowballed their efforts until the likes of Jason Momoa and others got on board. As the director himself made clear, for him it was about getting his “vision” out there, even if -at least up to that point- fans weren’t really completely enamored by the tone Snyder had stamped in all his previous DC films.
Jumping over to Rotten Tomatoes revealsMan of SteelandBatman V Supermanto hold only a 56% and 29% freshness rating, respectively, numbers that certainly do not speak of blockbuster levels of success or of a cult classic, but more of a misguided investment for WarnerMedia. In fact, the DCEU movies fans and critics tend to rate higherWonder Woman,Shazam!,AquamanandBirds of Prey, very different films that certainly don’t speak too well of this “vision” the #RestoreTheSnyderVerse movement seems so hell-bent on bringing back.
Calculations for Warner Bros. are done in an entirely different way, Snyder was a lot like a sports star who starts to fade after a breakout rookie season, because whileMan of Steelabsolutely crushed the worldwide box office,Batman V Supermanfailed to do the same. In the meantime, studio executives had to see Marvel absolutely hypnotize moviegoers, even with its less than spectacular offerings.
Snyders’ vision, from a business standpoint at least was nothing special, at least until the 2020 pandemic struck and suddenly it became useful to have a 4-hour superhero movie in hand that would help promote HBO Max. The biggest win for Snyder is getting his movie out there, aJustice Leaguethat stands heads and shoulders aboveWhedon’s, yet the question then becomes, would fans have flocked to see thisJustice Leagueback in 2017?
It’s certainly impossible to answer that, but one can speculate there is a huge divide between what fans, Snyder and Warner Bros. wanted, and there’s no reason to think that has gone away. WouldJustice League 2and3do well? After all, Snyder has his right to make movies the way he wants them to be made, and it’s really easier to love the ideas of something rather than the actual thing.
Three films and the benefit of hindsight are more than enough for Snyder to have presented his “pitch” of what the DCEU should look like, nevertheless, it’s become apparent thatthe Snyderverse is no darling like the MCU. For Warner, there’s still the chance that restoring the Snyderverse could result in fans simply not liking what they get, and the studio has simply made too many costly mistakes by this point handling the DCEU.
The harsh reality is that fans are hard to please, directors want to indulge and live out their creative freedom the bt way they can, and movie studios want to make money, however, there' no guarantee these three coincide at any given point.If Snyder were anMLB The Show 21pitcher, he would have put out a flawless first inning (Man of Steel); given up too many runs in the second (Batman V Superman); and lastly, left the game in the third (Justice League), overall hardly the kind of numbers that get fans or front office managers excited.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League$70m was a relatively cost-effective way to make the best out of so many expensive mistakes from years ago, an opportunity for Snyder to finish off what he started now knowing everything that was wrong with the movie. For this reason, it cannot be said enough that do-overs are not a thing in the movie world and, all things considered, the last time Snyder made a film that truly resonated with fans was in 2013’sMan of Steel. However sad it may be, fans who claim they want the Snyderverse back aren’t really too good for business if there aren’t enough of them to back up those wishes with money.
For all the calls to #RestoreTheSnyderVerse, fans do not seem to be entirely aware if that’s what they really want. It was never that way before and a 4-hour director’s cut goes down much differently from an actual regular film.Warner Bros. will not restore the Snyderversebecause it’s a risky business proposition, it only rescued the Snyder Cut from obscurity because it really wasn’t much of a gamble.
Fans gotZack Snyder’s Justice Leaguerelease, but going the extra mile is an entirely different ordeal, one that not even the public itself can truly decide it wants considering its past relationship with Snyder’s work, no matter how manystories he could have developed within the DCEU. At the very least, they might want to wait and seehow Snyder’sArmy of the Deadgoesbefore continuing to push for the Snyderverse’s return.
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