Those anticipating Zack Snyder’s Justice League had their hopes exceeded when word broke that the film would clock in at almost three hours long. Unsurprisingly for a film still eight months away from theatrical release, reports immediately refuted the claim and warned fans that Justice League’s running time would be closer to the average for a superhero blockbuster. And now that Zack Snyder has personally responded to those reports - and taken a playful shot at the source - this rumor can be put to rest.

It’s not as unrealistic a rumor as one might expect, with no director having proven his interest in deleted scenes and director’s cuts than Snyder. And with both Watchmen and Batman V Superman’s extended cuts largely regarded as better, or more complete films, the rumor that Warner Bros. had apparently approved a nearly three hour Justice League was somewhat believable. We can’t say for sure how long the movie WILL run, but as Snyder has now pointed out, it makes little sense for anyone to start guessing.

The story began when IMDb listed Justice League’s running time at 2:50:00, a full twenty minutes longer than Batman V Superman’s theatrical cut (for the record, that running time is still listed as of this writing). With other reports questioning the veracity of the website’s data, Snyder made his official response via Twitter:

@thejonberg @thejonberg Forgot to tell you that I screened the first cut of JL for IMDB. Thought that was standard WB procedure. No?— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) March 31, 2017

Snyder’s comment appears more playful than peeved, but it also seems to confirm that Justice League will be coming in at a significantly lower length (or, most likely, is still being finalized). That means the challenge now is to grasp how the many story beats, cameos, and connections to the larger DCEU and DC mythology can be squeezed into an even longer than usual film. Will the ancient battle scenes from the trailer be less substantial than they appear? Will the hints of larger stories just be Justice League Easter eggs, and nothing more?

The film has enough to tackle even before it concerns itself with the resurrection of Superman, what with Cyborg’s origin story supplying the heart of the Justice League, Batman’s recruitment of the many heroes, and oh yeah, the actual villain of the movie and his plan for Earth and the heroes defending it. It’s quite a bit to chew off, but in the right writer’s hands, or telling the right story, having multiple characters to bounce off one another can make dialogue and exposition easier, not harder. And if Batman is allowing Aquaman to surf on the Batmobile by the movie’s end, you know these friendships and bonds will be developing quickly.

How quickly, as mentioned above, is stil unknown. There will be many moviegoers pleased to hear they won’t have to spend three hours in the theater without and intermission… but who might also be excited to see what Snyder’s full length of ‘Ultimate Cut’ will be adding. We’ll have to wait and see if an extended or director’s cut of Justice League is warranted, but until that announcement is made, Zack Snyder confirms the only people who know the specifics of the film are the ones who need to at this stage.

What do you think of a potential three-hour cut of Justice League? Have you seen enough of the movie (and Snyder’s other films) to know it would be the better cut? Or are you less than confident of any movie that long, regardless of who’s in charge? Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Source: Zack Snyder