More than two years later the call to see a "Snyder Cut" of Justice League and see the version of the movie original director Zack Snyder would have made isn't only going strong, it appears to be stronger than ever. However, one of the biggest questions about such a movie, were it ever to see the light of day, is just how much of it have we actually already seen?
Zack Snyder completed principal photography on Justice League before Joss Whedon was brought in to do reshoots, and those reshoots were reportedly extensive. So just how much of what Zack Snyder filmed actually made it into the final theatrical version of the Justice League we all saw\?According to Zack Snyder's Director of Photography, Fabian Wagner, not very much at all.
During a recent mastercalss helmed by Fabian Wagner, the DOP was asked about the "Snyder Cut" of the film and in a response posted by Leonardo Oliveira, Wagner estimates that only about 10% of what he shot is in the movie that we've all seen.
Needless to say, that's a shockingly small amount. There was no question that the Joss Whedon reshoots changed Justice League in a significant way and that a lot of what was originally filmed had been replaced, but essentially, it turns out that almost none of the original footage survived.
That doesn't necessarily mean that the movie itself changed in a drastic way. It could be that the reshoots simply made new versions of existing scenes, perhaps making then lighter, as a response to the negative reaction Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice received from some corners due to its dower tone.
Of course, it could also mean that most of the movie was drastically changed and a fundamental plot level. We won't know for sure unless we ever actually see a Snyder Cut of the film.
I've never been one who cared all that much if I ever saw another cut of Justice League. I was certainly curious, but my interest was more academic than anything. While this doesn't change my opinion fundamentally, it certainly does increase my curiosity.
You can check out Fabian Wagner's complete comments in the video below.
While there is still a lot of very vocal support for the Snyder Cut, what there has not been is much of an indication that anybody is listening. Nobody at WB has publicly responded to the campaign in any way that so much as implies a release could happen, nevermind that it will. The launch event for HBO Max went by without so much as a reference to the movie.
The issue is that, while the movie does "exist" in that the footage is complete, it certainly needs, at minimum, a lot of post-production work, and that means somebody, like Warner Bros. would need to spend money to make the movie releasable, and the studio would have to believe that there's enough interest to make a profit on that expense.
Still, those dedicated to the movement are not showing any signs of giving up. Will we ever see that other 90% of the movie? If the fans have any ability to make it happen, they will.
