Superhero movies are everywhere, but Zack Snyder’s Justice League made history for its unique road to release. It took years of fan campaigns before the full four-hour version was finally released, and the theatrical cut recently celebrated its four year anniversary. And as a result, one Justice League star shared their feelings regarding the original and Snyder Cut.
The theatrical cut of Justice League greatly altered the movie’s contents, with a ton of footage left on the cutting room floor. The Amazon sequence was basically cut in half, with the Snyder Cut offering much more time on Themyscira. Army of the Dead actress Samantha Win played an Amazon warrior named Euboea, shared her thoughts about two very different cuts. When speaking about the one that landed in theaters four years ago, she said:
When I watched the 2017 version, it almost made me think, ‘Oh, that’s just the performance I gave and that’s just what the story was,’ because they had used much of what I had filmed, but it just looked different than I thought it was going to. The connection wasn’t as strong. I just wasn’t feeling it as much.
That was certainly honest. But given how much of Steppenwolf’s attack on Themyscira was cut out of the original version of Justice League, she’s not wrong. Luckily DC fans were treated to way more footage (and tragic deaths) when the Snyder Cut finally became a reality on HBO Max.
Samantha Win’s comments to Insider help to show what it was like for cast members when Justice League was released back in 2017. The Amazon scene is just one example of how footage greatly cut down for the theatrical version; in fact, entire characters were dropped. And Win seems to think that Queen Hippolyta’s story on Themyscira didn’t connect as much with audiences because of the cuts.
While the overall story of Steppenwolf’s assault on Themyscira plays out more or less the same in each version of Justice League, it’s a more expanded, bloody story in the Snyder Cut. We watch as countless Amazons sacrifice themselves to try and keep the Mother Box away, with the scene playing out from Hippolyta’s POV. This includes Samantha Win’s Euboea, who is crushed by a horse at the end of the battle.
Later in her same interview, the Army of the Dead and Wonder Woman actress went on to explain how Zack Snyder’s Justice League expanded the story of the Amazonians. While her character died in both versions, it felt more significant in the Snyder Cut. As Win put it,
In Zack’s version, I did feel the connection with the queen more. I felt like it meant more. There was more significance put on my character, Euboea, as representing all of the Amazonians. It felt so much more significant and symbolic for all of the women on the island, instead of it just being kind of a random death.
She’s got a point. Seeing Hippolyta so emotional over just one random Amazonian felt a bit out of place in the original Justice League. But that’s because far less deaths occurred in that version of the scene. So Euboea couldn’t represent all those fallen warriors.
Since Zack Snyder’s Justice League was released, some fans have been holding out hope that Warner Bros. might green light a sequel. After all, the four-hour epic was only meant to be part three of Snyder’s five-film vision. Unfortunately, the studio hasn’t given any indication of this happening.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is out on HBO Max and available to for home purchase now. Be sure to check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
