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.
Does justice league really need to be rated R? It even seems weird writing it out. I’m going to watch it and I’ve supported this whole endeavor, but a rated R justice league kind of just sums up how they missed the forest for the trees with these films. I’m just reminded of the needlessly gratuitous ‘eff Batman’ from titans that was just doing it to be edgy and cool. I have no problem with swearing in movies and have a very colorful vocabulary myself, but again, seems odd to have f bombs in a movie with Superman let alone… Read more »
“kind of just sums up how they missed the forest for the trees with these films..”
Absolutely. This is WB in regards to DC comics in a nutshell. I get that nobody wants the movie to be an episode of Superfirends but it doesn’t need to be The Boys or Watchmen or Deadpool either!
I don’t think some spicy language is going to make or break the movie. Snyder’s run with these characters, as we all know was not to paralell anything we’ve seen before. There is no doubt that his direction has been more towards the harder side. That “word” is why his directors cut of BvS was given an R. While many have objected to his lack of what I consider adolescent appeal, it is an element that many do like. With or without swear words, it probably won’t add to the harder edge that he has faithfully kept. I know some… Read more »
“we got a taste of what some say they miss and it was all there in JossW’s version” Eh, that was a very rushed and insipid board-room view of what people said they were missing. Almost a corporate parody of what people were asking for and besides you can’t course correct in the middle of already having doubled down like that, that was never going to be a good idea. Especially when you’ve given the director such a window before release date that he barely has time to have actor stand in front of a green screen and say their… Read more »
Plus whedons stuff is very specifically whedon. I personally find his writing to be beyond cheesy, especially with dialogue. I love the mcu also, but I don’t enjoy his entries.
And you’re right, it was a jarring shift in tone done by short sighted suits who had no idea how to handle their intellectual properties. While I didn’t like the direction the movies we’re heading under snyder, theatrical justice league should have at least tried to keep the same tone for consistency.
Would theaters be up and running for this movie? Are theaters even open? I mean people might not go if there is the fear of catching the virus that’s going around. I just think it’s safer to watch it on HBOmax when it comes out.
I’d like that. Get out of the house and see a movie like I used to.
Snyder’s comments about what goes on in the film got me excited. He really knows how to take things seriously and add drama to characters people constantly try to sanitize or say are “meant for kids”.
I hope it does. JL was meant to be seen in iMAX.
Heck, even I saw the JOSStice League film in iMAX and was pretty solid.
Aside from Supe’s mustache staring right at me. ;p
“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.” Umm….what??? I’m pretty sure there’s no conspiracy involving covid and theatres. What happened with Covid-19 is tragic. It’s a virus. It doesn’t care about movie goers. When the day comes that people can see movies safely in the theaters again, then that will be a day worth celebrating. But until then, Zack should be happy that he can at least… Read more »
DW13, please don’t be offended by my previous comment. I was commenting on what Zack said and it wasn’t meant as a reply to what you said. I hope that there wasn’t any confusion to who I was talking to.
I don’t much care for swearing in my super-hero movies, it feels out of place no matter how washed out the color palette is. It’s tolerable if it comes from bit characters, but it’s off when it comes from the heroes. It’s not a moral position for me, it’s a matter of consistency. Having said that, the ratings system is a joke with its arbitrary rules and I have no interest in entertaining the idea either way. BvS Ultimate is R-rated and outside of one F-bomb, the other edits to the theatrical cut were unnecessary. No 13 year old is… Read more »
I find there’s two categories of swear words, hard core and light core. I find hard core more of an unnecessary distraction. Something like, “what the hell is that”, is not what I’d call attention worthy. Regarding BvS, when the bomb is dropped I still find it overbearing and not something that adds to the story. And yes, the rest should never have been cut out. I would think as well if it’s going to be upwards of four hours, what would have normally been left on the floor, will be woven back into the story. Might be a lot… Read more »