Director Zack Snyder reveals that he was filming his version of Justice League during the movie's main production. The film's tumultuous principal photography has been discussed countless times over the years as it was a particularly important piece of conversation when pushing for the release of the Snyder Cut. Now that that the much-clamored version of the project is finally rolling out through a four-part HBO mini-series, even Snyder is candidly opening up about the whole process and how he worked through it.
Snyder plotted a five-part DCEU arc that would wrap up with Justice League 3. But due to the divisive response to both Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros. became more involved in the production of Justice League, mandating a two-hour restrictive runtime and demanding other changes to the story. Achieving their goal got a lot easier once Snyder had to step away from the project due to a personal tragedy and replaced by Joss Whedon who executed the alterations through the rushed and extensive reshoots. Fortunately for his fans, Snyder has committed to his vision; apparently, the director was also concurrently filming what he wanted to be in Justice League quietly despite the notes he got from Warner Bros..
Speaking with Comic Book Debate, the filmmaker candidly revealed his conflict with the studio with regard to the approach to the DCEU ensemble flick. Snyder then revealed that amidst all this, he kept on working with his original plan for Justice League, ensuring that they also had a version of the blockbuster that's not tainted with any kind of external influence.
You know the truth is, I was in a struggle with the studio, you know and famously, with had a lot of stuff we had to do and make it funny, and you know, frankly, I just kind of, in a slightly subversive way just kept also doing my thing at the same time so that I would have, what I would believe would be, you know, closer to what I want to do without any influence you know.
This was how after Snyder was out from the DCEU and Justice League's theatrical cut was out, he's able to constantly release snippets of the work he'd done on the project, essentially, keeping the Release the Snyder Cut movement alive. Before his new HBO Max project was greenlit, there was an endless debate loop as to whether the so-called Snyder Cut existed or not, as is known now, the answer is more complicated than a simple yes or no. While Snyder did finish the movie's principal photography before he had to leave, much of those shots were missing VFX, hence why he was granted additional funding to polish them plus a little bit more.
In hindsight, it's thanks to this that the much-clamored Justice League Snyder Cut is finally rolling out. Had it not been for the already filmed scenes, it would be difficult to sell the idea to green-light the project. As reported, Snyder showed snippets of his work to executives that ultimately convinced them to give him a shot. At this point, the director claims that he has no intentions of working on the DCEU past the Snyder Cut, but given this, it's not outside the realm of possibility that he's once again stealthily working on planting seeds for future storytelling.
Source: Comic Book Debate
