Zack Snyder Calls for “Justice League” Theatrical Release

While Zack Snyder’s “Justice League” is scheduled to premiere on HBO Max some time in 2021, the director is calling for a theatrical release of his film, which would likely clock in at over 4 hours… and end up with an R-rating.

“Here’s one piece of information nobody knows: The movie is insane and so epic and is probably rated R — that’s one thing I think will happen, that it will be an R-rated version, for sure,” Snyder told Entertainment Weekly. “We haven’t heard from the MPAA, but that’s my gut.”

The R-rating is likely due to the fact that Ben Affleck’s Batman drops the F-bomb.

“There’s one scene where Batman drops an F-bomb. Cyborg is not too happy with what’s going on with his life before he meets the Justice League, and he tends to speak his mind. And Steppenwolf is pretty much just hacking people in half. So [the rating would be due to] violence and profanity, probably both,” explains Snyder.

At a time when Warner Bros. has decided to have its films release simultaneously in theaters as well as the HBO Max streaming service, Snyder’s call for a theatrical release of his cut of “Justice League” is an interesting one.

“I’m a huge fan and a big supporter of the cinematic experience, and we’re already talking about Justice League playing theatrically at the same time it’s coming to HBO Max,” Snyder says. “So weirdly, it’s the reverse [of the trend].”

As for his own feelings on the decision by Warner Bros., Snyder says that he’s worried the decision wasn’t thought through fully.

“I feel like there’s a lot of people panicking during COVID. I hope that, in the end, that’s what this was — some sort of knee-jerk to COVID and not some sort of greater move to disrupt the theatrical experience.”

“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” will premiere on HBO Max as a 4-part event series in 2021. Whether it will also be released to theaters remains to be seen.