Whatever ultimate fate befalls the long-fought for Justice League Snyder Cut, the on-going campaign for its release is already an unprecedented success in one area - its charitable endeavors for suicide prevention. It’s been two years since Justice League hit theaters, and the conversation about the Snyder Cut hasn’t died down. Originally conceived as the first of a two-part story - the second of which would’ve released earlier this year - Justice League was directed by Zack Snyder, to an extent. Unfortunately, the director was forced to step away during production. Stepping in, Joss Whedon overhauled Justice League’s story and character arcs. The results were an underwhelming reception from both critics and fans. Equally, Justice League bombed at the box office, unable to even break even against its budget.
In the years since, a vocal collection of fans have campaigned tirelessly to see Snyder’s near-complete vision for Justice League released. Those efforts have taken over numerous conventions, including both San Diego and New York Comic Cons. They have included phone calls and letters to Warner Bros. They have featured sign-waving and leaflet dropping, as well as giveaways. They have even seen an airborne banner promoting the movement’s official hashtag and the purchase of multiple billboards. The campaign took bigger leaps forward online recently - with #ReleaseTheSnyderCut trending worldwide ahead of the movie’s second anniversary. That passionate accomplishment was only fueled further when, among others, Justice League actor Jason Momoa shared a brand new image from the unseen version of the film.
Whether or not those specific efforts will ultimately bear fruit, however, remains to be seen. Regardless, the Justice League Snyder Cut campaign can objectively be considered a massive success in one instance, in particular - its support of suicide prevention charities. The primary reason for Snyder stepping down as Justice League director was the tragic loss of his daughter, Autumn, to suicide. As a result, campaigners have made raising funds for charity as much a focal point of their endeavors as pushing for the release of the Snyder Cut. This oft-overlooked aspect of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign originally raised $15,000 via a GoFundMe page. Since then, an amazing $110,000 has been pledged to suicide prevention. As such, the latter has proven itself an unprecedented effort and positively set itself apart from many such campaigns of the past.
There have been a number of fan campaigns regarding movies and TV shows in recent years. Mostly, however, they have been aimed at resurrecting properties before their time. Fans of The OA amassed in great numbers to perform the show’s signature movements in an effort to change Netflix’s mind about the show’s cancellation. Equally, traditional and fittingly flamboyant efforts went into saving Sense8 before and after its a wrap-up movie. While both of them, and many others, functioned as great shows and huge leaps forward in terms of representation on-screen - the campaigns pale in comparison to the multi-faceted approach undertaken by the Snyder Cut movement.
The #ReleaseTheSnyderCut fundraiser has already been acknowledged by Snyder, as well as by his wife and producing partner, Deborah Snyder. Equally, the efforts have been praised by The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, for whom a bulk of the funds have been raised. There’s no word yet on whether even more will be raised in the future, but based on everything seen, it would be highly likely. Unfortunately, such accomplishments have been largely overlooked or disregarded - with many, especially on social media, only seeing an effort to get the original director’s cut of Justice League released. And with some of those merely pushing back without looking deeper into the efforts. Whatever one’s view on Justice League is, there’s no denying what the Snyder Cut campaigners have accomplished already - something which should most definitely be applauded.
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