When “The Snyder Cut” of Justice League was finally, officially announced, it was supposed to cost about $20-30 million and would not require any cast members to return for reshoots. Snyder’s project was going to spend its budget on special effects mostly, turning footage that was unfinished into impressive cinematic artistry. He was going to build his film around existing, cut footage and these newly completed special effects. Easy peasy, right?
It sound like “The Snyder Cut” has ballooned into something much, much bigger and, you know what, I’m into it. The Hollywood Reporter says that Snyder has had a change of heart and original cat members (including Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill and Ray Fisher) will return for a week of reshoots. And that $20-30 budget is now $70 million, which isn’t just chump change. Warner Bros is obviously okay with these changes, possibly because they see “The Snyder Cut” as a huge boon to their HBO Max and can see that it’ll bring a whole new wave of subscribers.
The size of these reshoots is a bit surprising because, like I said, they weren’t planned originally. Then again, “The Snyder Cut” has only gained buzz since its reveal so WanerMedia has probably warmed to the idea of giving Snyder even more so he can turn in the project he dreamed of.
The inclusion of Fisher is also surprising considering he is currently in a dispute with Warner Bros. Fisher claims that Whedon was the source of friction and abuse on the set of Justice League. An investigation is kinda, sorta ongoing, with Warners saying that Fisher is refusing to participate while Fisher states the truth will soon come out. Recently, Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa, came forward to say he supports Fisher, adding fuel to the fire and ensuring this debate won’t end soon. Fisher coming back into the fold for the Justice League reshoots shows how loyal Snyder is to the actor and the character of Cyborg. Rumor has it that Cyborg will be a much, much bigger part of “The Snyder Cut.”
Snyder’s plan is to turn Justice League into a four-part episodic event for HBO Max. The longer this project goes on, the bigger — and more promising — it becomes. Snyder isn’t messing around with this thing.