While only a few minutes of new footage was shot for the Snyder cut, this new version runs just shy of four hours long and will reunite audiences with the original film’s sprawling ensemble. Among them are Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Ezra Miller as The Flash, and many more.
But the new film comes with an added bonus: the addition of Jared Leto as Joker, whom Snyder wanted to bring into the original film, and is already a DC mainstay thanks to 2016’s “Suicide Squad.” As for how he’ll be integrated into the Snyder Cut, Vanity Fair revealed earlier that “Joker appears in the new film during a sequence set on a ruined Earth after the alien tyrant Darkseid invades and decimates the planet. It’s a dream sequence, a psychic vision, experienced by Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne that reveals what will happen if the superheroes fail to stop the onslaught. Joker is sort of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, supplying motivation through terror.”
Related ‘I Hate Suzie’ Is the Perfect Feel-Bad Show for the Holidays How ‘South Side’ Pulled Off a Hilarious Batman Parody Tribute Related Oscars 2023: Can Anyone Top ‘Maverick’ in Best Sound? The 225 Best Horror Movies of All Time
Snyder has his fans to thank for the release of this director’s cut, as #ReleaseTheSnyderCut became a growing social media campaign that encouraged the studio to greenlight the filmmaker’s vision. During the campaign, Snyder’s fans raised more than $200,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a cause that’s close to Snyder since his daughter Autumn died by suicide, forcing him to withdraw from “Justice League” in post.
Announced last year in February, this new version cost Warner Bros. around $70 million to complete, with added visual effects, score, and editing. The costly $300-million original film was considered a box office bomb. WarnerMedia is counting on the Snyder Cut to lure new subscribers to its budding subscription service HBO Max, which will also play host to all of Warner Bros.’ theatrical titles day and date throughout 2021.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.