Around the turn of the decade, Justice League’s Snyder Cut was a defining film event, but four years later, it feels like much ado about nothing. What was once seen as a revolutionary fan movement that pushed for greater creative autonomy now seems like a fad, especially considering how things played out afterward.
Without a doubt, the Snyder Cut is better than the 2017 Justice League, which Joss Whedon belatedly took over and fans mockingly called Josstice League. Snyder’s extended version fixed many of the original’s problems, but it came at a cost. So, the question remains: was all the fanfare behind #ReleaseTheSnyderCut worth it four years later? The answer is a resounding no.
Related
Things Aren’t Looking Good For The Latest ‘Snyder Cuts’ As First Reviews Come In
Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon franchise is in need of a win, but it seems that it won’t be coming from the newly released Director’s cuts.
Is Zack Snyder’s Justice League Still Relevant In 2025?
The Snyder Cut Has A Complicated Legacy
As things stand, the DCEU is dead, and James Gunn’s DCU has taken its place. Justice League was supposed to be a middle chapter of Zack Snyder’s vision, following Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, with a full JL trilogy planned. But those plans are gone, and so is the SnyderVerse. Some faint calls to restore the 300 director’s superhero universe can still be heard, but they’re nowhere near as strong as the push for the Snyder Cut.
When it was released in 2021, exactly four years ago, the Snyder Cut felt like a huge win. It proved that studios might cave to fan demands if they were loud enough. The film also redeemed itself from Whedon’s version, running twice as long at a full four hours. It even became the fourth most-streamed film of the year, according to Variety. But in hindsight, was it worth years of fan pressure, studio resistance, celebrity backing, and even rumored behind-the-scenes rigging? Not really.
The Snyder Cut May Have Killed The DCEU At Large
Toxic Fandom, Overspending, & Warner Bros. Failure
|
Zack Snyder Film |
Extra Footage Added |
|---|---|
|
300 – Complete Experience |
+6 min |
|
Watchmen – Director’s Cut |
+24 min |
|
Watchmen – Ultimate Cut |
+53 min |
|
Sucker Punch – Extended Cut |
+18 min |
|
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Ultimate Edition |
+32 min |
|
Zack Snyder’s Justice League |
+120 min |
|
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (Extended Cut) |
+18 min |
|
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver (Extended Cut) |
TBD |
The Snyder Cut might seem like a fan-driven victory, but it set a dangerous precedent. Unlike the calls for the eventual Superman II: Richard Donner Cut release, this campaign became toxic, leading to harassment, boycotts, and even death threats against studio executives. A Rolling Stone report from July 2022 revealed that fake accounts helped push the movement. It also claimed that in June 2020, Snyder had allegedly made a menacing remark toward producers Geoff Johns and Jon Berg:
Geoff and Jon are dragging their feet on taking their names off my cut. Now, I will destroy them on social media.
This whole fiasco might also be indirectly responsible for the DCEU’s demise. Fans pushed for a sequel Warner Bros. never planned, which made it harder for the studio to chart a clear course. It also exposed how mismanaged the DCEU had been from the start. The $70 million spent on the Snyder Cut didn’t boost HBO Max subscriptions in the long run. Adding this to the original movie’s $300 million cost, the studio likely saw the SnyderVerse as a financial dead end.
Ultimately, the Snyder Cut made Zack Snyder even more divisive as a filmmaker. It is true that his extended cuts of Watchmen and Batman v Superman are seen as better than their theatrical versions. Weirdly, he designed an approach with the Rebel Moon films that had original and director’s cuts planned from the beginning… which makes no sense if you have full creative control from the jump. Both versions of the Netflix films were critically panned, and Snyder’s longer R-rated cuts were only slightly better. In all honesty, this whole charade is getting exhausting.
The Snyder Cut Improved Justice League, But Not Enough
A Black Suit Superman Can Only Go So Far
Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League may be better than what Joss Whedon made, but let’s be honest — that’s not a high bar. This may be an unpopular opinion among DCEU or Snyder fans, but it needs to be said: the Snyder Cut isn’t the cult-classic masterpiece they believe it to be. If Josstice League felt like a bad movie, this was simply a longer, slightly improved, but still mediocre miniseries version of it. It might have worked as a filler film to continue the DC Snyderverse, but clearly, that’s not where we are today.
Essentially, Whedon took Snyder’s original vision for Justice League and cut it down to please the studio. Warner Bros. wasn’t happy with Snyder’s direction, especially after the backlash to Batman v Superman. The result? A messy, rushed, and sometimes incoherent film. Characters and major events were thrown in with no setup, and the story relied too much on weak excuses and coincidences, making it hard to care about anything.
Joss Whedon’s Justice League Vs. The Snyder Cut
Pick Your Poison
Snyder’s four-hour cut did show just how much was brutally removed. The new script added some context, fixed plot holes, and made the story feel more complete. A lot was lost in Whedon’s version, especially in terms of character development. Cyborg finally got a real backstory and arc here, while The Flash and Aquaman became a little more likable. It was certainly enough to give Barry Allen his standalone outing and Arthur Curry his sequel, but let’s not go there.
The new version also made Ben Affleck’s Batman feel more focused and less exhausted. Superman’s resurrection is mostly the same, but gives him more time to settle back in. Of course, the black suit still looks dapper on Henry Cavill. The finale, though imperfect, is a big step up from the rushed, overblown CGI mess from before. It also showed that Snyder works best when he tells stories at his own pace, but unfortunately, that pace is painfully slow.
The Biggest Problems With Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Overblown For The Sake Of Being Overblown
Even for those who love slow motion, there’s just too much of it here. Speeding things up would make the movie significantly shorter. The editing is sloppy in places, with scenes dragging on much longer than necessary. Plus, since most fans had already seen the 2017 film, they knew what was going to happen, fast or slow. This made the Snyder Cut’s drawn-out dialogue and repeated exposition feel even more tedious.
The film’s villain was also a mixed bag. Steppenwolf gets more depth in the Snyder Cut, as he’s no longer just a generic bad guy but a disgraced warrior trying to regain Darkseid’s favor. It was a welcome change, but Darkseid ended up overshadowing him. Instead of sticking to one strong antagonist, the movie teased a bigger threat without the right setup, making it feel rushed. Ultimately, it was another case of the DCEU trying to catch up with the MCU too quickly, but in vain. Now, DC is starting over from scratch with a seemingly much more hope-filled take on the Man of Steel to kick things off. Perhaps fans are simply over dark, gritty, and slow films?