Yes, the Snyder Cut of Justice League has finally arrived. If you’ve seen it, I hope you liked it as much as I did, because it was significantly better than the 2017 version. Now it looks like we can put all the bad memories of that movie to rest now, right? Well, not quite.
For a while now, fans have been vehemently claiming on the internet that the 2017 movie isn’t the canon version. Now what has Zack Snyder himself said about it? Oh, just about everything. First, he actually admitted that the Joss Whedon cut is the actual canon version. As of now, he’s saying that fans can decide which version is actually canon. Totally not confusing, right? I’m sure the vast majority of fans would prefer that the Snyder Cut is the canon version. Heck, even most of the directors of the DC Cinematic Universe prefer the Snyder Cut. Patty Jenkins herself even said that everyone at DC doesn’t really consider Joss Whedon’s version to be canon. So does that really mean anything?
Unfortunately, their word doesn’t mean much. It’s ultimately up to Walter Hamada and the other big wigs at Warner Bros. if they want to honor the continuity of the Snyder Cut. In my opinion, we’re pretty lucky we even got the Snyder Cut. This is something we got for the fans. Hey, I’m not saying that’s bad. I’m happy Zack Snyder got to tell his actual story the way he wanted it, but we may have to face facts. The Snyder Cut ended on a big cliffhanger, one that we now know where it all leads. Zack Snyder recently revealed his plans for Justice League 2 and 3, and they were pretty much what you would expect them to be.
Here’s the thing about the two versions of Justice League. It’s clear which one has the more positive reception, but the Joss Whedon version still came out first. That version didn’t really carry on what Zack Snyder had in mind, but the way it ended left the door open for a sequel. However, the biggest cliffhanger was the set up for the Injustice League. Now that’s cool, but since Joss Whedon’s version bombed at the box office, we’ll probably never see that happen.
Speaking of which, let’s talk about the differences between how both cuts ended. So in both versions, the Justice League came together, defeated Steppenwolf, and they all went home as heroes. Happy endings for both versions of the teams, but the Snyder Cut had one critical difference. Well, for that post-credits scene with Lex Luthor and Deathstroke, instead of implying that the Injustice League was coming, Lex actually revealed who Batman was to Deathstroke. Yeah, that was for the Batman movie we were supposed to get, but never will. But never say never. Wink, wink.
But when the Justice League in the Snyder Cut ended their journey, it was heavily implied that Darkseid was gearing up for another invasion. In Joss Whedon’t cut, Darkseid didn’t even make an appearance! Despite that, both movies ended with Steppenwolf being defeated. Even though we didn’t see it in Joss Whedon’s cut, Darkseid was probably very disappointed with his failure and vowed to enact vengeance on the heroes. Furthermore, the Snyder Cut kept going back to the nightmare scene from Batman vs. Superman. It’s clear that Zack Snyder fully intended for that nightmare scene to become the dark future for the DCEU.
It’s also clear that Joss Whedon didn’t really bother to honor that idea. Now we can be mad at him for that, but based on the details Zack Snyder released about his Justice League sequels, it seems that nightmare scene was main setting for them. Is it cool? Yes, but there’s some problems with the story behind it. In fact, it actually answers why the Snyder Cut doesn’t really have to be canon.
The nightmare scene, as evident by the Snyder Cut, intended for Superman to be corrupted by Darkseid, then turned into his personal enforcer. That Superman vs. the League scene was awesome, but come on, I think we’ve seen enough of the evil Superman. On top of that, and this is a serious spoiler alert for the Snyder sequels we may never see, Batman dies in the end. If you ask me, that just wouldn’t work. Why? Well, again, we don’t need more evil Superman and secondly, we’re not attached to this Batman enough to feel the impact of his death. Seriously, he’s only been around since 2016 and he’s only been in two movies. Well, technically three, but it’s still not enough.
Since the Whedon version didn’t really honor the whole nightmare and Darkseid takeover idea, then if we follow his canon, that whole thing probably won’t happen. Honestly, that’s not a bad thing. Sure, you can hate on Joss Whedon and his cut all you want, but the way he ended his Justice League opens up the future of the League with new opportunities. For one, no evil Superman. How about we put that aside and give him the storyline he truly deserves. Zack Snyder did that with his cut and yes, I do like how Joss Whedon wrote him in his cut, all CGI jaws aside. Oh, and we don’t have to really kill anyone off right away either. Again, none of these characters have been around long enough to make us really feel it.
How Warner Bros. fully intends to continue the DCEU, I have no clue. We’ll probably have to wait until after the Flash movie to see what they change, but I just don’t see them restoring the Snyderverse. I mean, Warner Bros. even confirmed that they’re done with the Snyderverse, and I think they mean it. Now maybe they’ll change their minds, but I think they’d rather try going in a new direction. Personally, I think that’s a good thing.
The important thing to remember is that both cuts ended essentially the same way. The DCEU has their Justice League and they’re are many stories to tell. They don’t have to go the Snyderverse nightmare route, but give us some sequels where the Justice League can actually be the League. No evil Superman, no dead Batman, and no CGI jaws. Just some good character development and a good story to go along with it.
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