DC's attempts to build a Marvel-rivalling cinematic universe have hit several stumbling blocks, the biggest of which was arguably 2017's Justice League.
The critical and commercial failure of the team-up movie led to a change of focus to more standalone offerings. It's an approach that's brought success, with Aquaman sailing past $1 billion, Shazam! impressing the critics and Joker exceeding every expectation to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history, and the first to cross the billion-dollar mark.
But some fans are convinced that Justice League's failure could have been avoided and that there's a better version out there. Enter the Snyder Cut.
Zack Snyder stepped away from Justice League during production, following the death of his daughter, with Joss Whedon stepping in as director for reshoots and post-production. According to producer Charles Roven, Whedon was only responsible for "15, 20 per cent of the movie", but either way, Whedon's final version was an overstuffed mess that didn't satisfy DC fans or potential newcomers to the franchise.
So began a fan campaign to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut that, for the most part, has been without official support – until now. Snyder has been regularly releasing teasers of scenes from his version of the movie that didn't make the final cut, while also admitting that his original plan for Justice League was never actually filmed.
However, calls for the Snyder Cut to be released were ramped up in August when Jason Momoa confirmed that he had seen it, calling it "ssssiiicccckkkkkk" (his spelling, not ours). He followed this up by saying that the "public needs to see it", but neither of those was a public endorsement of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign.
That came on November 8 when Momoa shared a still of Aquaman stabbing Steppenwolf on Instagram with the campaign hashtag – and more was to follow.
On the two-year anniversary of Justice League's release on November 17, Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck both tweeted their support of the campaign, with Snyder sharing their posts and lending his support to the campaign for the first time.
"This ancient Amazonian can’t be wrong," he wrote. "Neither can Batman."
Now, this could all be a coincidence and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, "no announcement of a release of any such cut is imminent".
But it's hard to shake the feeling that everything has been too orchestrated and planned, especially when you consider that the stars could have shared their support for the campaign at any time.
A two-year anniversary isn't exactly a notable occasion, so it feels coordinated, especially when you fold in the fact that Snyder shared both posts from Gadot and Affleck. He's tweeted his thanks for the campaign before, but hadn't got involved officially until now.
So perhaps it's either an attempt to get more eyes on the campaign to convince Warner Bros to release it, or the Snyder Cut is already on the way somehow and this is the start of the promotion.
A theatrical release seems unlikely, given the costs involved and the fact that however big the campaign gets, the Snyder Cut has a niche appeal that won't necessarily attract a bigger audience.
What has been mooted a lot is a release on HBO Max – WarnerMedia Entertainment's upcoming streaming service – when it arrives in May 2020. That feels like a better home for an alternate cut, if Warner Bros didn't want to spend the money on a cinema or home entertainment release.
For now, we still can't say for certain that the Snyder Cut will see the light of day, but it feels closer now than ever before.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
