The Wall Street Journal recently spoke to many hardcore DC fans that have been lobbying for Warner Bros. to release the Snyder Cut of Justice League. Next week, fans may finally have some answers about Snyder’s original cut when the WSJ article is published. But until then, I wanted to suggest what I feel is the best way to release the movie while satisfying the needs of both Warner Bros. and the fans.
I think it’s unlikely that Warner Bros. will release the Snyder Cut on Blu-ray because Snyder’s cut of the movie isn’t finished. Justice League already lost Warner Bros. a lot of money and I don’t see them spending millions more dollars to finish the Snyder Cut for a Blu-ray release. They couldn’t just release a rough, unfinished version of the movie as it stands now on Blu-ray. Could you imagine someone walking down the isle of Walmart, picking it up, and then getting home and realizing they paid for an unfinished movie? They’d be furious.
But you know who wouldn’t be upset about paying for an unfinished version of the Snyder Cut? Hardcore DC fans. And it just so happens that DC is launching DC Universe next month, their digital service that’s designed specifically for hardcore fans. It’s not a product that’s going to appeal to the mainstream audience, and it’s the perfect platform for Warner Bros. to release the Snyder Cut of Justice League.
Think about it. DC Universe is working on a lot of original content and TV shows for their service, but many of them won’t be ready until later next year. Launching with a lot of old TV shows and movies is great, but can you imagine if they launched with Snyder’s original rough cut of Justice League? It wouldn’t cost them a thing and would bring in way more paying customers than a new show like Titans would.
Many fans at this point just want to see the early, rough cut that Zack Snyder turned in. They aren’t asking Warner Bros. to spend millions of dollars to finish the CGI. Warner Bros. could get away with releasing an unfinished movie on their digital platform in a way they couldn’t by releasing it in stores on Blu-ray.
Of course the flip side to this is that Warner Bros. may not be interested in ever releasing the Snyder Cut of Justice League. Remember, they saw it already and didn’t like it. It’s the reason why Joss Whedon was hired to rewrite part of the script and why the studio wanted to change a lot of the movie during reshoots. They simply may not be interested in releasing what they feel is a sub-par product, regardless of how inexpensive it would be to do so on a service like DC Universe.
However, if Warner Bros. ever releases the Snyder Cut of Justice League, I think DC Universe is the way to go. It’d be the perfect way to get the movie directly into the hands of DC fans without having to spend the kind of money that would be needed for a full Blu-ray release in big retail stores. They’d see an increase in DC Universe subscribers and fans would be happy. It’s a win-win.
Do you think Warner Bros. will ever release the Snyder Cut? Do you agree that DC Universe is the best way to get it to the hardcore DC fans who have been craving it? Let me know in the comments below.
