Zack Snyder shared some new information about his upcoming HBO Max exclusive, his director’s cut of Justice League, that I suppose is meant to make some people excited: Batman curses.
“Here’s one piece of information nobody knows: The movie is insane and so epic and is probably rated R — that’s one thing I think will happen, that it will be an R-rated version, for sure,” Snyder told Entertainment Weekly in an interview. “We haven’t heard from the MPAA, but that’s my gut.”
What in this film makes his gut think this stuff is fodder to the MPAA to give it an R-Rating?
“There’s one scene where Batman drops an F-bomb. Cyborg is not too happy with what’s going on with his life before he meets the Justice League, and he tends to speak his mind. And Steppenwolf is pretty much just hacking people in half. So [the rating would be due to] violence and profanity, probably both.”
Holy Bat-Profanity, Batman!
WarnerMedia has put in a lot of money to fund Snyder’s director’s cut and rework the film into a limited series for HBO Max—a reported price tag of $70 million. This new footage includes scenes with the core cast, including Ben Affleck (Batman) and Ray Fisher (Cyborg).
Due to the allegations from Ray Fisher, backed by Jason Momoa and others—about the toxic environment that went on during Justice League shooting under Joss Whedon—and the end product of the dual-director debacle being really awful, there are some reasons why it has seemed like a legit venture to give Snyder the ability to deliver his vision, especially considering the tragic personal reasons that caused him to leave the film.
But then, he talks about the movie, his ideas, and the tone of it, and I just want to sigh. It just sounds like more of the same frustrating elements that have made his series of films in the DCEU, and the ones that emulate this cynicism, so unappealing. I will do my best to see what this additional $70 million has created with as much fairness as possible, but I wonder if anyone can do that. Between Snyder fans and everyone else, no one is coming into this without some expectations.
Snyder was also asked about Warner Bros. and HBO Max deciding to release all their movies on the streaming service and in theaters at the same time:
“It felt like a pretty bold move and that maybe the implication wasn’t 100 percent thought out,” he says. “I feel like there’s a lot of people panicking during COVID. I hope that, in the end, that’s what this was — some sort of knee-jerk to COVID and not some sort of greater move to disrupt the theatrical experience. I thought we were kind of already getting very close to the ideal theatrical window where you still had marketing material out there and you hadn’t forgotten about the film by the time it came out on DVD or streaming. I thought we were starting to hone in on that sweet spot, but this kind of throws a monkey wrench in the works.”
Well, we will see what happens in 2021 when the Snyder Cut gets released.
(via EW, image: Warner Bros.)
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Published: Dec 15, 2020 12:33 pm