Zack Snyder Shares Amazing Batman Pic From Justice League Cut
Zack Snyder's cut of Justice League may never see the light of day, but fans' fascination with it isn't going anywhere.
The director recently took to his Vero account to share an image of Ben Affleck's Batman from his cut of the movie, and it is — to put it mildly — freakin' sweet.
For all of the inevitable backlash from fans over his casting, those same fans generally ended up agreeing that Affleck's version of the Dark Knight — who debuted in 2016's Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice and figured prominently in the next year's Justice League — was actually pretty cool. "Batfleck" may not have had the longest shelf life; the star has officially hung up the cape and cowl, making way for Robert Pattinson to give us a younger, more noir-influenced version of the character in writer/director Matt Reeves' upcoming The Batman. But Affleck certainly gave the role his all, and this image is just the kind of thing that makes us wish he'd been given another shot.
For that matter, it's bound to renew the clamor for Warner Bros. and DC Films to release Snyder's cut of Justice League. Just as a brief refresher, a family tragedy forced Snyder to step away from the film in post-production, at which point Avengers director Joss Whedon was brought in to finish the picture. Whedon, by some accounts, ended up re-shooting something like half the film, eventually turning in a much, much different movie from what Snyder had originally envisioned.
The finished product underperformed severely at the box office, bringing in only $677 million dollars worldwide — which seems pretty fantastic, until you realize that we're talking about the first time the titular superhero squad had come together on the big screen in live-action. Ever since, fans have been loudly demanding the release of Snyder's cut of the flick — which, depending upon whom you believe, may or may not actually exist.
On the one hand, you have folks like legendary composer Danny Elfman, who took over scoring the film when Whedon came on board. He has asserted that Snyder never even finished assembling a proper cut of the movie — which should come as news to Jason Momoa, who portrayed Aquaman in the film and the 2018 solo vehicle for the character. Momoa has publicly proclaimed that not only does it exist, but that he has actually seen it (and it is "ssssiiicccckkkkkk.")
We're inclined to come down on the side of believing Momoa, if for no other reason than that he is infinitely more capable of kicking our asses than Elfman is. But even if Snyder's cut is fully assembled, just hanging out on a shelf in Warner's vault, it's pretty unlikely that the studio would see their way clear to releasing an alternate version of a film that almost certainly ended up losing it money just because fans keep insisting on it.
Has Zack Snyder shared any other images from his cut of Justice League?
Encouraged by all of the support from fans (not to mention his cast and crew), Snyder has posted a veritable treasure trove of images from his cut of the film to his Vero account, many of which feature characters that didn't end up making it into Whedon's cut. Here's Willem Dafoe as Vulko, who appeared in Aquaman; his Justice League scenes ended up on the cutting room floor when Whedon took over.
Here's Dafoe's Vulko with Amber Heard's Mera, who also had a significant role in the movie before all of Whedon's reshoots squeezed her out.
Here we have an unused shot of Cyborg, portrayed by Ray Fisher — who, incidentally, is said to have had far more screen time in Snyder's version of Justice League, and who has also been vocal in his desire to see that version released.
And here's a set photo of DC's iconic trinity of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, with Affleck sporting his alternate costume compelte with Bat-goggles.
There's plenty more where those came from to be seen on Snyder's Vero, and there will doubtless be even more in the days and weeks to come. Although it seems likely that the Snyder cut of Justice League will never escape from that vault, it seems as if the furor over the alternate version isn't going to die down anytime soon, if ever.
Despite a rough start, the films of the DC Movie Universe have begun to find more favor with fans; Aquaman and Joker both grossed over a billion dollars worldwide, and Shazam! was a crowd-pleasing hit. But it certainly seems as if circumstances might have conspired to yank the rug out from under Snyder just when he was starting to find his footing, and for that reason, one can't really blame fans for lamenting what might have been.