ONLY FROM THE DARKNESS CAN WE TRULY FEEL THE LIGHT by Marco Antonio Nájera

“This is what we know: The world has grown dark and while we have reason to fear we have the strength not to. There are heroes among us, to remind us that only from fear comes courage. That only from the darkness can we truly feel the light.”

– Lois Lane (monologue not in the final Justice league film).

I support the Snyder cut of Justice League.

DCEU cinematic universe was a promise. A promise superhero films could be more than just ephemeral escapism. A promise filmmakers could tell with creative freedom modern mythology through superheroes. A promise for ideas, visuals & emotions. A promise for films with gravitas.
I felt a mixture of opposite feelings while watching Justice League the first time (and even later): I enjoyed the grand scale of epic fights, the clash of these titanic characters coming together for a noble purpose & seeing the best one among them returning from the death to save the day; but in the other hand I felt overwhelmed by the amount of subpar filmmaking techniques, uneven tone, lack of character development, lack of continuity, inadequate musical score, dumbed down dialogue/characters & rushed visual effects.

Upon further viewings of JL it has been difficult to accept faults of the film when the good aspects aren’t enough to compensate such failure at crafting a film. All this would be disappointing enough letting no option but just to move on and hope for a better future, except for a couple things:
a) WB management of JL‘s post-production & what it means for the future of DC films.
b) The Justice League film we saw isn’t the original cut by the director in the credits. The fact is the final film was a result of WB studios intervention over the original version of JL that the studio thought incapable of appealing to a wider audience than previous installments of the “Dawn of Justice” story (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Justice League), which was narrating the beginnings of Superman as Earth’s champion & the formation of the team of the greatest heroes of the world.

The future.
The first to worry about is the way WB treated the story and characters of JL through changes in the film during post-production; it raises the question if future films will follow the same tendency, which has a considerable part of the DCEU fan base feeling less interested about further films or at the very least having expectations at bay, which cannot be good for the success of the franchise.

WB’s meddling.
The studio interfered with the JL film turning it in a different version of what the director had nearly finished (details in a following paragraph). Maybe not that big of a surprise after the Suicide Squad movie was re-edited at request of the studio after some test screenings; though in that case the director of that film was the one still supervising any changes. Justice League suffered so much more because of director Zack Snyder being out of the post-production (due to a family tragedy); changes for the film demanded by the studio went out of control without the main creative mind behind the film (and the trilogy), leading to a less than adequate film (like a demanded 2 hours length for the film, just as an example).

Art is important.
There is always a struggle between business and art with films; art lost the battle in JL. The original film creative efforts were sullied in favor of fun, action & nostalgia. It was supposed to make JL more appealing, to help the film be a financial success at a level the previous installments of the saga could not achieve; though in that aspect it failed big too, in addition to alienating a portion of DCEU fans that had been loyal until before JL.

The Snyder JL cut.
There‘s a different version of Justice League, the actual film that director Zack Snyder had almost ready to show as it was going advanced stages of post-production before studio decided to alter the film. Evident in several pieces of publicity (as well as leaked footage), we can see a fraction of that JL film (shots hinting several moments with an expanded & alternate tone for the story). The idea of the film being altered by the studio was present since departure of the director but most fans trusted WB claims of JL remaining as Snyder film. The trust for WB by the (until then) enthusiastic defenders of DCEU faded thin as the JL film shown resulted to be far from what can be expected from its director Zack Snyder in aspects that go from cinematography and music to VFXs & everything in between. Though enjoyable to an extent, it‘s evident the film was changed to a point it’s barely recognizable as a true Snyder film, not to mention the lack of uniformity by the inadequate work by the director who replaced Snyder; the additions & changes while watching the film are just too obvious to ignore.
Snyder cut of Justice League being almost finished in March 2017 gives me hope of seeing that version of the film released if only the remaining work could be completed. The notion of how close Snyder’s JL was from completion comes from going back to Snyder own publications about post-production work itself, by comparing those to the filmmaking process known to be common in Hollywood. The JL film had passed a “locked” stage, a point relatively close to the film being ready. Although several inner collaborators within the production have also mentioned the existence of a Snyder cut of the film, if there was any doubt.

There are still some unknown factors for the release of the Snyder cut though. Even if a version was locked in March-May when Snyder was in charge (when he had months available to polish his film) some questions comes to mind: Would Snyder be proud of the JL film as he had it locked? or he would rather do further work like the film could have had in the time available before release?; did some of the new scenes included in the current theatrical cut of JL were actually meant by Snyder for his cut (as reported)? or in reality did those come after his departure without his approval?; would Snyder consider adding scenes from the current TC of JL to his own cut even if those came as late additions (ordered by the studio) if he sees in them value for the JL film?; is there a chance for more than one “director’s cut” for JL as with the film Batman v Superman (which has a theatrical cut & an extended cut) or other author films like Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner?, maybe “Justice League director’s cut” would the locked JL film in March-May 2017 & an “JL ultimate cut” would have more footage (including or not some of the scenes made for the JL released in theaters).

What fans want to see.
One way or the other, it becomes evident something very important is needed: Zack Snyder approving any “director’s cut”, in that way ensuring the Justice League film released under that label to be of his creative approval & audience getting the best film Snyder & WB studios can give to them. Additionally it would be a good message about collaboration between WB and the filmmakers in this and future films; a message for the audience, artistic collaborators & filmmakers; that, even if late, WB is able to deliver the vision intended by the artists, not by a committee.

So, let’s be clear & to the point: a Zack Snyder cut of Justice League is the main goal desired by fans. Being able to watch the film as envisioned by the director: the unaltered plot, extended characters’ backstories, fitting musical score, proper dialogue and epic visuals as were planned for the final chapter to a trilogy with a story which takes Superman into becoming the champion of the world, a beacon of hope & the inspiration for the greatest heroes on Earth to unite as a team. Justice League as intended by writer Chris Terrio & director Zack Snyder.

There will be time for other stories, different takes on characters & new ideas; but, if WB wants the audience to trust them, it will be beneficial for the studio to show that in the end they will support and respect their filmmakers thus respecting the audience that follows passionately their work. The audience in return will support back the studio’s further films. WB coming clear, stepping upfront and really meeting its audience will bring a brighter future for the franchise; financially and artistically.

There must be mutual support. It’s important, for WB and us, to remember that even if at times we get trapped in darkness, we are capable of feeling the light.

Thank you for your time.