Warner Bros.’ Justice League landed in 2017, and it feels like that long since diehard Zack Snyder fans have been clamoring to see his take that got shelved when Joss Whedon was hired to pump out a theatrical version. Over the past year, especially, we’ve heard from various parties, who would allegedly be in the know, that the once-fabled “Snyder Cut” actually exists. Kevin Smith came first to warm up DC fans to the prospect before Jason Momoa claimed to have seen the “ssssiiicccckkkkkk” thing, and Momoa even showed off an apparently filmed incident that never surfaced from Whedon. In December 2019, Snyder further fueled rumors by posting a photo of film cans that showed off a 214-minute runtime for his version, and now fresh speculation — perhaps the most convincing that people have seen so far — suggests that if a Snyder Cut’s gonna surface, it might happen very soon.
Much of the excitement correlates with the fact that we’re about one week away from the HBO Max launch date of May 27. Given that Warner Bros.’ entire stable of superhero films (every Batman movie, Joker, just all of it) will be part of the immense HBO Max library, it really seems, logically, that if the Snyder Cut surfaces anywhere (if it’s ever technically finished), putting it on HBO Max would make the most sense. I can’t think of a more immediately effective way for HBO Max to encourage nerds to sign up as fast as possible for a $14.99 subscription if they’re not already one of the lucky HBO subscribers who will get it rolled into their existing subscription. Also — and this might be telling — Snyder is going to host an event (formally, a Man of Steel Watch Party on Vero) on Wednesday, May 20, which some have speculated will include an announcement. Will that announcement be that the Snyder Cut will surface, you know, on HBO Max?
You be the judge. “Many of us are struggling during this difficult time,” Snyder recently tweeted. “Felt it could be cathartic to come together now for a Man of Steel Watch Party and celebrate the ultimate symbol of hope.” The director will also field a Q&A session.
Many of us are struggling during this difficult time. Felt it could be cathartic to come together now for a Man of Steel Watch Party and celebrate the ultimate symbol of hope. Submit some questions, I’ll answer a few after. #manofsteel #superman https://t.co/PdvGayTe7b pic.twitter.com/GMvIWyD4y4
— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) May 18, 2020
So, what do we make of this? The timing of the HBO Max launch with this fresh round of speculation is one thing. The fact that this is all going down during a pandemic — when millions of people under quarantine, could use some hope, or at least something they’ll be happy watching — is another factor that makes people want to believe. And on top of that, DCEU Mythic’s Jeremy Conrad and (who tends to be at the forefront of rumors that happen to be later confirmed) seems to be leaning toward thinking that the Snyder Cut will actually surface, and soon. Read Conrad’s reasoning here. Trusted nerd voice Peter Sciretta of Slashfilm may now be a believer as well. 2020 is strange!
None of this speculation, of course, means that the fabled Snyder Cut is truly coming to HBO Max. We won’t now if that’s happening until it does, or until we hear some sort of joint announcement from Snyder, Warner Bros, and HBO Max.
If it happens, though, let’s just say that there’s gonna be a lot of very excited people. That will not only include hardcore nerds but also Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck, who have vocally added their voices to the chorus to demand the release as opposed to a few dissentors, including Man of Steel Henry Cavill, composer Danny Elfman, and, reportedly, Warner Bros. itself as of late last year. Yet as we know now, more than ever, things can change fast, so we’ll see what happens during Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel Watch Party on Wednesday.
