After years of rumors, speculation and a whole lot of fan campaigning, the Snyder Cut of Justice League finally arrived on HBO Max in 2021. Clocking in at a massive four hours, the new Justice League version fared considerably better critically than its predecessor, scoring a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the 2017 film's 39%. It's now been nearly five years since the movie released, and much has changed in that time. The DCEU went through multiple consecutive flops, and the brand was reset into what is now the DCU.
Still, despite the time that's passed and the many events that have transpired since, it's safe to say that Zack Snyder's Justice League remains an important moment in the cinematic history of DC. Zack Snyder himself has also played a role in keeping his work on people's minds, periodically sharing cool throwback images of his DC endeavors.
Now, the director has taken to social media once again, this time to promote the black-and-white version of his Justice League film, or, as it's formally known: Zack Snyder's Justice League: Justice is Gray:
In the caption, the director encouraged his fans to stream the film: "It's the perfect night to watch the black-and-white cut of Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max. Justice is Gray. Turn the lights down, turn the volume up." The director also included the hashtags #SnyderCut and #JusticeIsGray.
What's surprising about him promoting the movie is that the day Snyder made his post doesn't appear to be tied to any Justice League-related milestone. The original, Joss Whedon-directed movie came out November 17, 2017, and Snyder's version released on March 18, 2021. Thus, his post seems to be just a fun reminder for his audience to watch the film. Speaking to IGN in 2021, Snyder revealed the Justice Is Gray edition is, in fact, his favorite version of the project, stating he was a "huge advocate of, and a huge admirer of [it]."
Despite the expectations behind it, the film's performance appears to have been somewhat disappointing—at least upon release. Shortly after its premiere on HBO Max, Samba TV reported (via Deadline) that 1.8 million households in the United States had tuned in to watch at least five minutes of the movie in the period of March 18-21. For context, this put the film behind Wonder Woman 1984 (2.2 million households).
Justice League eventually reached 2.2 million households during its entire first week on streaming (via Slash Film). However, Samba TV reported that, out of all the households that tuned in, only 800,000 or 36% of them actually finished the film.
Nevertheless, the release was a monumental step for Snyder, who had, for years, longed to see his vision realized. Talking to Josh Horowitz in 2024, Snyder was asked what he hoped the Snyder Cut of Justice League meant in pop culture, to which he responded: "I mean, listen, in the end, what it should mean is some triumph of pure creative freedom, for better or for worse. [...] The only thing I would say about Justice League is, it's really a pure... someday we'll get into the weeds on how contentious it was. Having me during the pandemic, working on my own, no control like some psycho [...] It was really amazing. But it really was us just doing it ourselves. Pure artistic exercise."
Zack Snyder's Justice League is available to stream on HBO Max.
What do you think about Zack Snyder promoting his cut of Justice League? What do you think about his version of the film? Let me know in the comments!