Justice For Justice League: How "Release The Snyder Cut" Created A Flashpoint In Fandom

There's no shortage of coverage about the Snyder Cut of 2017's much-maligned film Justice League. The film only made $657 million. However, if a movie doesn't make at least a billion dollars, it's a complete and total failure (and in some cases, that's not even enough *ahem* Toy Story 4). Few films to make Justice League money are disappointments. It's like this and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (which only made $700 million!) But we're talking the Snyder cut, not Andrew Garfield's second web sling. And there's one reason why: Fandom. And there are few fandoms like the legion of Zack Snyder obsessives. Over the last two years, Snyder's base successfully called for the release of what's known as the "Snyder Cut," a re-assembling of Justice League's raw footage, overseen and completed by Snyder himself. The completion, which Warner Bros. greenlit earlier this year, would require an additional $30 million all so they can release it on a platform that offers no box office profit: HBO Max. "Unprecedented" doesn't even begin to describe this event.

Sure, there are are some examples of studios responding to fan reactions and adjusting. Test screenings are, for example, a standard part of the process for most major studio releases. In 2006, New Line ordered additional reshoots on the cult-hit Snakes on a Plane o add new scenes fitting the expectations of online audiences. Just last year, following a backlash over the design of its star character, Paramount rebuilt Sonic the Hedgehog from the ground-up, correcting his bizarre, humanoid teeth. Overjoyed fans returned the favor by turning Sonic into one of the year's biggest movies--by default, of course, due to theater closures, but $300 million for a talking hedgehog movie is nothing to scoff at.

Still, the "Snyder Cut" movement is something altogether different. HBO Max announced earlier this year that the film would be released either as a four-hour-long film or six-part miniseries. As a result, the "Release the Snyder Cut" movement became a flashpoint in fandom, one that sets a precedent for future film releases, for both those who make movies and for fans who watch them.

It's not uncommon for fans to complain. Anyone that's ever been on the internet can attest to that. Two years ago, angry Star Wars fans screamed into the void about remaking Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and a year later, disappointed Game of Thrones fans pined for a re-do of the show's final season. To garner support, fans cherry-picked interviews with the stars of those properties criticizing the finished product. YouTube's algorithm routinely recommended supercuts of Mark Hamill criticizing The Last Jedi-director Rian Johnson and compilations of the Game of Thrones cast dumping on the finale to anyone that's ever watched a Red Letter Media video. It's as if advocates of these campaigns realized the necessity for a star's backing to push their plan forward. However, surprisingly, the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement had the support of the cast. Essentially, fans argued that a better version of the film existed, and those who helped make the film agreed.

It is incredibly uncommon for Hollywood superstars to take sides in this kind of debate. Things like non-disparagement agreements and fear of blacklisting keep the Hollywood machine running and stars on the side of production. Yet over the last year, the stars of Justice League have become fan advocates, calling attention to the Snyder Cut and encouraging fans to do the same, both tacitly and explicitly Megastars like Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot tweeted "#ReleaseTheSnyderCut," a softer endorsement. Jason Mamoa, the loudest voice for Snyder's version, posted videos, images and descriptions of the unseen and unfinished version of Justice League. In a series of social media posts, Mamoa teased characters, set pieces and abandoned story arcs left on the cutting room floor. All the while, no one has jumped to the defense of the contributions of the film's credited director Joss Whedon.

#ReleaseTheSnyderCut

— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) November 17, 2019

Whedon's role in the film is a bit murkier. Warner Bros. hired him to do some rewrites and reshoots in March 2017 after the suicide of Snyder's daughter pulled the original director away from production. Fans rejected Whedon's version, particularly its lighter, more comedic tone--something you would never find in a Snyder film (love them or hate them, Snyder's work is deathly serious). Following its release, the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement began. And so did the rumor mill, spouting unconfirmed reports that Warner Bros. thought Snyder's initial cut was "unwatchable" and Whedon, hot off two Avengers hits, seemed like a good bet to come in and bring the film home. But that didn't happen. And ever since the film's release, fans scapegoated Whedon as the reason for its failure.

It's not totally unheard of for cast members to encourage fan participation in the marketing of a film. After all, most poorly reviewed movies are usually said to be "for the fans, not critics" anyway. But the casts' backing of Snyder's version comes at the cost of scapegoating Whedon. By saying "Release the Snyder Cut," Affleck, Mamoa and Gadot are effectively saying that the Whedon cut is a worse version, and that's really strange for the very diplomatic world of Hollywood press tours and red carpets. So what gives? Why were the stars so willing to throw Whedon under the bus?

We may have finally got a little insight into this new, and frankly, upsetting wrinkle. Earlier this week, Justice League star Ray Fisher, who plays the character Cyborg, went on Twitter to talkback some praise for Joss Whedon, sharing a clip from Comic-Con 2017 where he called the director a "great guy." He captioned the tweet, "I'd like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement." His tweet is the first instance in which a cast member has directly pointed the finger at Whedon.

I’d like to take a moment to forcefully retract every bit of this statement: pic.twitter.com/1ECwwu6TG1

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) June 29, 2020

Days later, Fisher formally accused Whedon of abusive behavior while working on the film. He tweets, "Joss Whedon's on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional & completely unacceptable." He also goes on to accuse Warner and DC Comics executives of enabling this behavior. Other crew members responded to the tweets by agreeing with Fisher's assessment on Twitter and Instagram. The allegation changes the tenor of the #ReleasetheSnyderCut campaign and the discussion surrounding the film, as well as the response to Whedon's involvement.

Joss Wheadon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable. He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Accountability>Entertainment

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 1, 2020

Where the story goes from here is anyone's guess. It's unclear what repercussions will come from the allegations and what will come after the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League next May. Still, in film landscape that's driven by scheduling, release dates and cooperation from the cast, fandom threw a wrench into those plans and created something that's unlike anything that's existed before it. What could've been a minor blip in the superhero movie overload we've been experiencing for the past decade is now an inflection point between fans and creators, customers and manufacturers.

Before announcing the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, Warner Bros. allegedly worried that they might be emboldening a potentially toxic fanbase. But toxic or not, the fanbase is emboldened, and it likely won't be the last time they get what they want.