After a years-long campaign from DC fans, Zack Snyder's Justice League finally became a reality in March 2021 as it premiered on HBO Max. The four-hour cut of Snyder's vision for Justice League became one of the ten most-watched movies digitally in the world since the pandemic started in 2020, although its positive reception from fans hasn't done much to adjust the minds of Warner Bros.' top executives regarding DC's future.
Even with the movie's success, Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly has no intention of bringing Snyder's story back to the forefront, choosing to view the 2017 theatrical cut of Justice League as the only one that holds any weight. This movie is the one that is viewed as canon to the rest of the DC Extended Universe, and even while that universe could see some huge changes in the coming years, the company seems intent keeping Snyder's vision a separate entity entirely.
This split between the fans and the company behind the DCEU has kept the Snyder Cut in the spotlight, particularly as it continues to be one of the most popular DC films in the game today. Now, it's even set to make a historic comeback thanks to one of the biggest filmmakers in Hollywood.
Kevin Smith Confirms Snyder Cut in Theaters
Via ComicBook, movie director Kevin Smith confirmed on his podcast, Fatman Beyond, that he plans to bring Zack Snyder's Justice League to theaters for the first time ever.
In a new episode of the podcast, Smith shared that Smodcastle Cinemas will have a Snyder Cut screening event as part of a series of screenings and Q&A sessions titled “Directly Responsible: Face-to-Face With Filmmakers At Smodcastle." This will feature appearances by Snyder himself along with Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo and Ghostbusters: Afterlife director Jason Reitman.
Smith reminisced on how Snyder said he had never shown the Snyder Cut in a theater before, which Smith wanted to change:
“Zack Snyder is coming in the new year, and he was like, ‘I’ve never shown Justice League in a theater once,’ so I was like ’brother, bring it!’”
Snyder Cut Making Its Theatrical Debut
Nearly two years after Zack Snyder's Justice League first made its mark on the streaming world, Kevin Smith is making sure that it gets its time to shine on the big screen as well. And after the original Justice League became the lowest-grossing pre-pandemic movie in DCEU history, this will hopefully allow a select group of fans to enjoy the version of the movie that most feel was better in a big-screen environment.
On the positive side, this will keep the Snyder Cut in the spotlight while Warner Bros. Discovery tries to work through the problems that it's having behind the scenes with expanding and reworking the entire DC universe. But it will also remind fans that this take on the Justice League likely won't see any expansion, particularly as more fan cries continue to be heard for David Ayer's cut of Suicide Squad in a similar vein as the Snyder Cut.
Regardless of what the future holds, the Snyder Cut remains a hot topic as DC's premiere team of heroes looks to take center stage in theaters for the first time next year.
Zack Snyder's Justice League is now streaming on HBO Max, and it will make its theatrical debut sometime in 2023.
