For many the big draw to the online DC FanDome streaming event was seeing what director Zack Snyder would reveal from his upcoming re-edit of his Justice League film for HBO Max. And Snyder did not disappoint them, premiering the first trailer for the film.
(For those unfamiliar – and I am not sure who that can be at this point – Snyder had to step away from the post-production of the film back in 2016 due to a family tragedy. Warner Brothers brought in Joss Whedon to oversee some changes and to finish the film, which did not perform well at the box office or with critics. Snyder fans almost immediately launched a campaign to allow Snyder to return and realize his original vision for the film. Earlier this year, HBO Max finally decided that it made financial sense to complete
Before he rolled the trailer, Snyder did clarify how the film will presented on the streaming service –
It’s going to be in four parts, one hour each. So four hours of Justice League is coming your way. We’re going to work on a way of bundling it together at the end so you can watch it as a single film if that’s the way you want to experience it. Also to all my international fans and everyone watching all over the world, don’t worry if you don’t have HBO Max because we’re working on a distribution plan. I promise you you’re going to get a chance to see it.
For those closely following the Snyder Cut saga, most of the new images are ones that have been hinted at over the last couple of years such as Miller’s Flash rescuing Kiersey Clemons as Iris West.
And while it is exciting to see this new footage, the trailer is predominately scored to the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah” which feels somewhat overplayed at this point. Snyder even used it before in a sequence in his 2009 Watchmen adaptation.
As you watch the trailer, you’ll notice that it is in the boxy 1.66:1 aspect ration instead of a much wider, theatrical ratio that the released version of Justice League had. Apparently this is a choice from Snyder, but one that leaves me skeptical. For a story that appears grandly epic, the aspect ration itself feels somewhat confining. We’ll see how it works when Justice League: The Snyder Cut hits HBO Max sometime next year.
