Warning: spoilers ahead for Justice League! You've been warned!
Zack Snyder's Justice League changed considerably over the course of its production and post-production processes. Between many significant behind-the-scenes changes at DC Entertainment, as well as the decision to bring Joss Whedon in to finish the film, it's beginning to look more and more like Snyder's original vision for the movie was altered by the time the blockbuster debuted. Now it seems like some fans want to see what could've been, as a petition to release a director's cut of the film is gaining traction online.
This Change.org petition makes it abundantly clear: a large segment of the DCEU fanbase wants to see Justice League restored to Zack Snyder's original, unabridged version, complete with the Junkie XL score that accompanied the movie before Danny Elfman stepped in as the film's composer. The primary complaints presented in this petition seem to be the fact that Justice League suffered because of its short two-hour runtime, as well as the fact that changes made to the film don't reflect it as the final leg of a trilogy that started with Man of Steel and continued with Batman v Superman. In the eyes of the folks running this petition: Justice League isn't Star Wars: A New Hope; it needs more room to breath so it can flesh out its characters.
An extended cut of Justice League doesn't necessarily seem outside the realm of possibility at this point. After all, Batman v Superman was arguably improved by the inclusion of the Ultimate Edition home release, and while Suicide Squad was arguably made worse by its extended cut, it still got one. A Snyder-centric recut of Justice League would definitely be a tall order for DC Entertainment, but it's not impossible for fans to will it into existence. As of the publishing of this article, the petition is well over halfway to its goal of 5,000 signatures.
You only need to look at the trailers for Justice League to get a sense of how the film has evolved ever since we first got a good look at it back at San Diego Comic-Con 2016. In fact, some sequences shown off in the marketing campaign were nowhere to be found by the time the film debuted. Among these mission sequences were plenty of cool moments, including but not limited to a very curious shot of Barry Allen breaking a glass structure with his finger in slow-motion.
Then there's the matter of how Justice League ends. Early rumors associated with the project suggested that Snyder's initial plan was to treat Justice League as a "Part One" movie and end the film on a cliffhanger. Although we still don't know exact details, the rumors have hinted that this would've featured an ending teasing the arrival of Darkseid on Earth. This rumor seems corroborated by the fact that Steppenwolf makes a quick reference to the behemoth space Hitler after he obtains two of the Mother Boxes, but the film never returns to the reference. If Snyder's original vision for the film had featured Darkseid, then this could've made considerably more sense. Now we will just have to wait and see if this petition gains the traction to show us what could've been.
Justice League is now in theaters, so make sure to check out the latest entry in the DCEU as soon as possible! Still not convinced which ticket to buy? Then take a look at our Justice League To 3D guide to figure out which ticket is worth your hard-earned money.
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