Zack Snyder's Vision for Justice League: Why It Could Never Be Like An Avengers Movie

The Controversy and Snyder's Departure

There has been plenty of controversy over Joss Whedon's cut of Justice League and Zack Snyder's recent revelation about it. Snyder's Justice League was set to be the magnum opus of his DC universe after he directed Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, after his daughter, Autumn, died by suicide, Snyder left the project, and Warner Bros. brought in The Avengers director to finish it.

The DCEU movie was met with a poor reception and underperformed at the box office. In a recent interview with THR, Snyder said he wanted to keep the film as his vision, but Warner Bros. wanted it to be more similar to a Marvel film. The Rebel Moon director said he still hasn't seen the Whedon cut, but going in the Marvel direction wasn't the answer.

Zack Snyder's Justice League movie image

Snyder expressed, 'We cared deeply about what we were doing. We weren’t trying to make an Avengers movie. We weren’t. We didn’t know how, quite frankly. They brought someone in that did. I’ve never seen the [Whedon version], but it wasn’t the answer.'

Wayne T Carr as John Stewart Green Lantern in Zack Snyder's Justice League deleted scene

Snyder's Vision vs. Marvel Direction

Fortunately, Warner Bros. allowed Snyder to release his cut of Justice League as a four-hour epic on Max, when the streamer was still called HBO Max. The film was vastly different from the theatrical cut, delivering more development for characters like Ray Fisher's Cyborg and expanding on the lore in the DC universe.

Superman in Zack Snyder's Justice League Knightmare image

Snyder's films were significantly different from Marvel, primarily in their tone. The DC movies didn't have many jokes, and the atmosphere was always more violent and mature, rather than geared toward a family-friendly audience. While Whedon's version did have some solid laughs, seeing Batman go from brooding to more comical was abrupt and shifted him away from what Snyder was trying to set up.

Wonder Woman in 2021's Zack Snyder's Justice League

Marvel had perfected their formula, and DC needed to put out their own brand of superhero content, rather than copying their rivals with the Justice League theatrical cut.

Snyder's Cut vs. Whedon's Version

Snyder's vision for his DC characters was divisive up until Justice League, but the Snyder cut proved it should have stayed closer to his idea and moved away from being a Marvel film. The differences in the two versions were evident, with Snyder's film providing more depth and a darker, more serious tone compared to Whedon's more lighthearted and comical approach.

The Snyder cut also delivered more development for characters like Ray Fisher's Cyborg and expanded on the lore in the DC universe, proving that Snyder's vision for Justice League was more in line with the tone and style he had established in his previous DC films.

Source: THR