See, a while back it was revealed that Snyder, director of Justice League right up until a family tragedy pulled him out of Hollywood, had a first print of his film stored somewhere. This is misleading for several reasons, most-notably because it wasn’t even a working one and was unwatchable, but its existence got DCEU diehards who were unhappy with Joss Whedon’s revisions worked up enough to create a hashtag demanding it be released in its original, unedited form. This went on for a year, until WB finally caved and announced its release for HBO Max.
On one hand, this being released at all is interesting. Directors often make compromises on their vision during editing, as that’s where their movies really take shape. Having an “original vision” come to life is exciting, as sometimes the original vision’s better than what we end up with. That Blade Runner only became a classic after the director’s cut came out proves that. Plus, it’s sometimes cool to see what’s changed between versions.
On the other hand, the way in which this came about feels disingenuous. Ignoring how editing’s a thankless process that can cause burnout, a lot of this feels like a response to the toxic vitriol that followed in the years since the original story. This isn’t to say that everyone was toxic, most weren’t, but many of the most-vocal fans of The Snyder Cut were loud, disrespectful jerks who dominated the conversation with complaints of “Joss Whedon Disney-fying” the material for “children who can’t appreciate high art”. Ignoring that superhero movies, even the good ones, are meant for the lowest common-denominator, it elevates The DCEU beyond what it is: edgy, grim-dark filmmaking that failed to resonate with most people. I’d also argue that it diminishes what Whedon brought to the table, but that’s for another day…
The problem with this is that directors don’t always know what’s best. We’ve seen that with how the first ever Star Wars movie was rescued in editing, transforming it from a bloated mess to what we love. Editing’s a thankless job that often goes unnoticed when done well. I should know, I edit most of my pieces on this blog!
Besides, the director’s voice isn’t the only one that matters. It’s important, yes, and much of the movie couldn’t exist without it, but other voices are equally as crucial. There’s the screenwriter, for instance, who provides the dialogue and stage notes for the director and actors. There are the actors, who recite the lines. There’s the DP, who frames the shooting. There’s the conductor for the music. There’s the special effects team, who make all the fancy visuals. And there are hundreds upon hundreds of crew-members responsible for making it all go smoothly. The director simply unifies these voices.
It’s really easy to become attached to a project based on the director. I’m not innocent in that regard. We all want our favourite directors to make their movies their own way, even if they’re bad. But sometimes it’s important to know when a ship has sailed. I say this knowing that I’ll probably never get to see the unaltered versions of The Original Star Wars films because of George Lucas’s stubbornness.
As for The Snyder Cut? It’s happening now, even if not in the way people intended. Does this mean it won’t be interesting to see how the two versions of Justice League compare? Not necessarily. Does this mean it’ll be the better end-product? That’s not off the table. Now, do I want this for every movie that’s been heavily-interfered with from now on? No, especially given the years of toxic vitriol.
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