Justice League reshoots director Joss Whedon puts his spin on the popular Release the Snyder Cut hashtag. It’s no secret that while Zack Snyder did get sole credit for directing Warner Bros. and DC’s first ensemble project, it was Whedon who had the last say on its theatrical cut – manning extensive reshoots which effectively watered down Snyder’s original plan. Between the mandatory 2-hour runtime from Warner Bros. and a couple of rewrites (including one even before filming began), only 10% of the original material made it to the big screen. Much of it was reworked, resulting in a noticeably incoherent film.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Justice League‘s poor quality was reflected in critical reviews, as well as its disappointing box office performance, which paved the way for the Release the Snyder Cut movement. The campaign demands that Warner Bros. roll out the original cut of the film with Junkie XL‘s (the initial composer before Danny Elfman stepped in) score. It’s been more than two years since the movie hit theaters, but calls for Snyder’s version continue, meanwhile Whedon joins the conversation with his spin on the petition’s signature hashtag.
Taking to his official Twitter account, Whedon replied to Castlevania writer Warren Ellis’ image of a hilariously old Batman. Whedon jokingly called the image Victorian Batman and capped off his reply with #ReleaseTheSnyderDaguerreotype, referencing the Justice League-related movement and a rarely-used word that defines an old-timey photography process. Check out his full tweet below:
As expected, fans in the comments section weren’t thrilled with Whedon’s hashtag wordplay. To be fair, a lot of Snyder Cut supporters weren’t a fan of him anyway considering what happened with Justice League in his hands. However, fanning the flames like this could only have resulted in stirring the pot and riling up Snyder Cut fans. Whedon is a smart enough guy to know the reaction he would evoke with this tweet, so he was probably prepared for the backlash. If anything, the use of Batman in the image coupled with the Snyder Cut hashtag was too good an opportunity for him to pass up. A blunt poke at the legion of fans still unhappy with Whedon’s directorial choices couldn’t have been unintentional on the director’s part.
Whether or not Justice League‘s Snyder Cut ever sees the light of day remains to be seen. Warner Bros. has been mum about the movement, even with big-name backing from Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot. Snyder has confirmed that his original cut of the movie does exist, and others have come forward claiming they’ve seen (and loved) it. If the studio plans to eventually give in to the demands and roll out Snyder’s cut, now might be the perfect time to do so (via a streaming platform) considering the ongoing, massive, coronavirus-related quarantine we’re all experiencing.
Source: Joss Whedon via Twitter
- Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)Release date: Jun 05, 2020
- The Batman (2021)Release date: Jun 25, 2021
- The Suicide Squad (2021)Release date: Aug 06, 2021
- Black Adam (2021)Release date: Dec 22, 2021
- Shazam 2 (2022)Release date: Apr 01, 2022
- DC Super Pets (2022)Release date: May 20, 2022
- The Flash (2022)Release date: Jul 01, 2022
- Aquaman 2 (2022)Release date: Dec 16, 2022