Zack Snyder’s Justice League Has A New Title
Zack Snyder's Justice League just got a new name.
This article is more than 2 years old
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is how we have been referring to the new cut of Justice League that will be hitting HBO Max in 2021. All the marketing material has been calling it that and many folks have assumed that would be the final title for this new version of the film. But now, a new piece of promotional material looks to have changed the name to something different, and it is going to be interesting to see how some fans respond to the change.
Check out this tweet from HBO Max’s official account that reveals the new name for Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League:
And in case you don’t feel like sitting through the entire advertisement, here is a screencap of the new title:
Yes, it looks like Zack Snyder’s Justice League will now be referred to as Justice League: Director’s Cut. This is a much more classic title for an alternate cut of a movie, and it will probably be a better way to sell the alternate version to viewers who aren’t familiar with all the drama surrounding the alternate cut.
Originally, the new version was only referred to as the Snyder Cut by diehard fans. The reason for the change? We can only speculate but it might have to do with the fact that the name Zack Snyder might not mean a whole lot to HBO Max subscribers. But calling a movie a director’s cut has some level of intrigue to casual viewers. It makes it sound like a more artistically complete version of a movie. Sometimes, it doesn’t even mean the director’s preferred version. The “director’s cut” of Alien is a great example. Ridley Scott has said that the theatrical cut of Alien is his preferred version, but they called the new version they put out the “director’s cut” because that’s what people seem to respond to.
If Zack Snyder sees a good response to Justice League: Director’s Cut, we could see even more alternate versions of movies start hitting HBO Max. There is already the possibility that we could see David Ayer’s very different cut of Suicide Squad if Justice League: Director’s Cut performs well on the streaming service. And beyond that? Maybe Warner Bros. will be more willing to allow filmmakers to put out alternate versions of their higher-profile movies on HBO Max. We could see a return to the glory days of home video where we could pretty much expect most movies to release in multiple versions.
We will have to wait and see if Justice League: Director’s Cut ends up being worth all of the time and money the studio is putting into it. There is no denying that Zack Snyder’s alternate cut is a big curiosity, but it remains to be seen if casual viewers will at all be interested in seeing a new riff on Justice League. Is this only going to incentivize film fanatics and DC fans? Or could it prove to be a selling point for casual subscribers? Whatever happens, it will likely have major ramifications for the streaming service’s future.
