The conversation around the Justice League Snyder Cut doesn’t seem to be dying down anytime soon - in fact, it seems more and more Justice League cast and crew members are calling for its release. Justice League’s tumultuous production has been the talk of the town for the past couple of years now. From multiple script rewrites to studio-mandated two-hour runtime, the film went through a lot of hurdles, but nothing derailed it as much as the last-minute director switch between Snyder and Joss Whedon.
While Snyder did get the sole credit for directing Justice League, it was Whedon who had the last say on its theatrical cut - manning extensive reshoots which effectively whittled down Snyder’s original plan. The result was a hollow, incoherent film which didn’t go unnoticed by the public. As soon as this became apparent, the Release the Snyder Cut movement was born, demanding Warner Bros. roll out the original cut of the film with Junkie XL’s (the initial composer before Danny Elfman stepped in) score.
Along the way, the Release the Snyder Cut campaign has garnered notable supporters in the industry, including many of Justice League’s cast and crew members. Here’s everyone who worked on the movie who have called on Warner Bros. to release the Snyder Cut.
Jason Momoa
Jason Momoa has been the most vocal Justice League cast member who has supported the Release the Snyder Cut movement. He’s always been open about his love for Snyder; prior to even talking about the Snyder Cut, the actor had time and again credited Snyder for playing a pivotal role in shaping his career. Initially auditioning for the role of Batman (which eventually landed on Ben Affleck’s lap), Snyder chose the Game of Thrones alum as the DCEU’s Aquaman - veering away from the character’s traditional looks in the comics.
While Momoa has been supportive of Snyder, it was more recently that he began to champion the Release the Snyder Cut movement. He revealed that he saw the Justice League Snyder Cut - even teasing how different it is from Justice League’s theatrical version, adding that the public needs to see it.
Ray Fisher
Like Momoa, Ray Fisher has also been vocal about his support for Snyder. He famously wore the “I love Z.S.” shirt during Justice League’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con following the director’s exit from the project. It’s no secret that Fisher’s Victor Stone/Cyborg story was significantly affected by the changes made to the Justice League theatrical cut. He was supposed to be the heart of the film, having a personal stake in the fight against Steppenwolf given his link to the Mother Boxes. Plus, he was supposed to have a few emotional scenes with his parents.
No wonder, when Fisher was asked in June 2019 about the Release the Snyder Cut movement, he supported the idea, saying that he wants the controversial version of the film also rolled out. More recently, he used the hashtag in a social media post while talking about a cut scene involving Victor’s mom.
Jesse Eisenberg
Debuting as the primary villain in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice as Lex Luthor, Jesse Eisenberg only appeared in the post-credit scene of Justice League. He was originally going to be featured more heavily, however, with the actor confirming that he filmed more scenes he thinks aren’t in the movie (he still has yet to watch it). While he revealed in an interview that he was unaware of the Release the Snyder Cut movement, he wants to see Snyder’s cut of Justice League since some of the other scenes he worked on were left on the editing room floor.
Fabian Wagner
Cinematographer Fabian Wagner has dropped several Justice League deleted scenes that he filmed with Snyder when the director was still in charge. That includes a behind-the-scenes clip of the full Aquaman rescue scene, as well as the supposed appearance of Antiope (Robin Wright) during the history lesson - both sequences weren’t in the theatrical version of the movie. In an interview back in August, Wagner was asked about his thoughts on the calls to release the Snyder Cut and he was clear about his answer: “As a fan, and the guy who worked with Zack on Justice League, and who shot it, yeah. I mean, f-ck, I would love to see Zack’s film.” He also praised the members of the Release the Snyder Cut movement for relentlessly campaigning for the cause.
Ray Porter
Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) may have been the primary villain of Justice League, but he was supposedly only a lead-in to the eventual introduction of Darkseid played by Ray Porter. As more details about his scrapped Justice League involvement come to light, Porter has expressed his support for the Release the Snyder Cut campaign, personally calling out AT&T and Warner Bros. to heed to fans’ demands.
Poised to be the overall antagonist in Snyder’s story, Darkseid was supposed to have a significant arc in Justice League, with his character being properly established by the time he takes the center stage in Justice League 2. Ultimately, the Justice League reshoots ended up cutting all his scenes and the character wasn’t featured at all in the theatrical version.
Nick McKinless
Another hired actor whose Justice League part was significantly diminished is Nick McKinless. Tapped by Snyder to play Ares, McKinless was briefly featured in the movie during Wonder Woman’s history lesson scene, in which he can be seen attacking Steppenwolf. However, Snyder’s version would’ve had him in for longer and instead fight a younger Darkseid, going by the name Uxas. McKinless told Screen Rant that he rigorously trained for his Justice League role from February 2016 to April 2016, although he wasn’t credited or paid residuals for the part in the end. While he did get a “stunts” credit, David Thewlis, who played Ares in Wonder Woman got billing for the role.
Patrick Tatoupolous
A frequent collaborator of Snyder, production designer Patrick Tatoupolous worked on all of the director’s DCEU films since 2013’s Man of Steel. Over the last several months, Tatoupolous has been active on social media, releasing concept art from Snyder’s Justice League, including one depicting an interesting look at Cyborg’s character design. He also tends to engage with his followers, championing the Release the Snyder Cut campaign. In one particular encounter with a fan on Instagram who’s also a proponent of the petition, he encouraged him to “keep fighting for it,” adding that fans, including himself, “would love to see it.”
Clay Staub
Aerial second unit director, Clay Staub joined the growing list of prominent people calling for Warner Bros. to roll out the Snyder Cut. In a social media post sharing a doodle of Batman and the Batmobile from Tatoupolous, Staub reminisced on his experience working with Snyder on the “real Justice League,” and using the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut hashtag. In a subsequent interview with Screen Rant, he revealed that he worked on the London and Monaco leg of production, although he was primarily focused “on Bruce Wayne’s travel to the village in Iceland and the discovery of Arthur Curry.”
Jay Oliva
Justice League artist Jay Oliva worked with Snyder during the conception of the movie. However, just like the filmmaker, he was no longer involved with the project when changes came via Whedon’s reshoots. As is with Snyder’s process, usually mapping out his story before going to production, Oliva had a good idea of what the director’s overall plan was. So when arguments about whether or not there’s actually a Snyder Cut of Justice League, he was clear that it does indeed exists. It’s not a surprise, then, that he’s also backing the Release the Snyder Cut campaign, by sharing a storyboard of a pivotal moment between Superman and Steppenwolf accompanied with the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut hashtag.
Karen Bryson and Stewart Alexander
Cast as Victor Stone’s mom in Justice League, Karen Bryson’s part in the movie was cut after Cyborg’s origin story was watered down. While Bryson had been quiet regarding the petitions to release the Snyder Cut, she got involved when she retweeted Fisher’s tweet, which shared some information about a deleted scene with Stone and his mom, accompanied with the hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut. Stewart Alexander, on the other hand, was also supposed to be in the movie in the same scene. Like Bryson, he shared Fisher’s post (retweeted by a fan) on his Twitter account and confirmed his involvement, recalling the great experience working on the sequence with the “absolutely legendary” Snyder.
Greg Draven
Greg Draven portrayed the Viking who buried the Mother box during Wonder Woman’s history lesson in Justice League. While he had limited time on the set, he has been vocal about having a great time working with Snyder during the project, and in a tweet back in May, he made it clear that he is a proponent of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement.
Sam Benjamin
Like the aforementioned actors hired whose parts were ultimately scrapped, Sam Benjamin’s role in Justice League was left on the editing room floor when Whedon stepped in. While the actor won’t confirm specific details about his involvement, he has shared his experience working with Snyder and candidly revealed how he felt about the reshoots. With all the interest surrounding his cut role, on Twitter, Benjamin thanked everyone who reached out to him regarding the matter with a message that included the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut hashtag.
Matthew Rugetti
Another frequent collaborator of Snyder’s, fight choreographer Matthew Rugetti worked with the director on Watchmen, 300, and all of the director’s DCEU films, including Justice League. In a post on his official Vero account, he reiterated that the Snyder Cut does exist, adding that “WB can’t hold it lock n key forever.” He finished his post by expressing his excitement over its supposed release along with the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut hashtag.
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Justice League’s #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement started shortly after the film released in theaters; two years have passed and it’s still going with fans organizing various events supporting their cause as well as Snyder. Warner Bros. has kept silent throughout this whole debacle, but with a growing number of prominent supporters, including those who actually worked with Snyder on the movie, they would have to address the issue sooner rather than later.
More: Justice League’s Snyder Cut Has Won Over DCEU Critics
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