It's hard to think of a word to better describe Zack Snyder's Justice League than "eventful."
Snyder was given the reins of the DCEU in the early 2010s with Man of Steel, DC's first film in an attempt to create their own interconnected universe to match what Marvel Studios was building with Phase 1 of the MCU.
Snyder then went on to create one of the biggest blockbuster movies of all time within the same universe: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Fan excitement was at an all-time high as the marketing for the film showcased DC's three biggest names in the same project - Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
Many fans were disappointed with the incoherent story that came along with the movie, and Snyder's reputation was starting to slip when it came to building a comic book universe. However, an R-rated, near 3-hour-long ultimate edition cut of the film was released, and fans started to see his vision.
The end of Batman v Superman set up the first major crossover event in the DCEU, teasing the first appearance of the Justice League. Snyder was set to finally get his "Avengers" movie and even filmed a large portion of it before the tragic death of his daughter forced him to step away from the film.
Instead of sticking with the director's vision, Warner Bros. hired director Joss Whedon to come onto the project and finish it for Snyder, and the product was nothing short of a CGI-heavy disaster that didn't connect with anything Snyder had set up in the previous years.
Rumors of a "Snyder Cut" began swirling around the internet after Warner Bros.' failed attempt at Justice League left a bad taste in the mouths of millions of fans, with many people demanding that the studio let Snyder follow through and finish his vision for his heroes. Actors portraying prominent roles in the DCEU, such as Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, even took to the massive social media movement known as "Release the Snyder Cut," voicing their support for his cut to be released.
The voices of the fans were heard and, in 2020, Warner Bros. finally revealed that Snyder would be allowed to finish his version of Justice League and that it would be released on HBO Max. Clocking in at exactly 4 hours long, the film was a massive step-up from its "Sparknotes" version that was released in 2017, and fans were finally able to see the vision for one part of the DCEU completed.
DC Warriors in New Justice League VFX Reel
Scanline VFX, a German visual effects and animation company that has worked on projects such as Game of Thrones and the MCU, recently released via Vimeo an official VFX reel highlighting some of the main scenes from Zack Snyder's Justice League.
The reel runs at a little over 4 minutes and spends time breaking down CGI-heavy scenes in a film that they created over 1,000 visual effects shots in, showing how the company can make them look as crisp and life-like as possible.
Some of the scenes that are showcased in the reel include Steppenwolf's arrival at Themyscira, tearing through many of the Amazon warriors in his path of destruction, and Ezra Miller's The Flash as he zips around faster than a bolt of lightning, ultimately saving the day.
The full VFX reel can be seen below:
Zack Snyder's Massive Step-Up
Zack Snyder's Justice League is a step-up from what was released in 2017 in every way possible, especially the visual effects. Many complaints that fans had with Joss Whedon's version of the film were directed towards the lackluster CGI that was given to the character of Steppenwolf and especially Henry Cavill, who portrays Superman.
It was in no way Cavill's fault, as he needed to sport a full beard for Mission: Impossible - Fallout, so the studio decided that they would just edit his face in post-production to make it look like that beard wasn't there. The only problem was that the bottom half of his face looked like it had come out of a cartoon.
Snyder was allowed to do his own reshoots and film additional scenes for Zack Snyder's Justice League prior to its release on HBO Max. But all in all, his film was almost completed when he originally stepped away and post-production was the main task at hand when he returned. Scanline VFX have proven themselves to be a top-of-the-line VFX company with their work on so many successful projects in the past, and their reputation carries over for this film as well.
The highlight reel that they released is just another treat that fans will now be able to look at and see how the beauty of Zack Snyder's Justice League was made.
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