Justice League was apparently always meant to be two hours long

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Many blockbusters get intense amounts of attention before release, but few are approached with as much scrutiny as JUSTICE LEAGUE. Every rumor and detail gets picked apart as if by vultures tearing at a carcass, the most recent element subject to this being the movie’s runtime of two hours. Fans were taken aback by the news, but according to a new report doing a shorter movie was always the game plan for Warner Bros.

According to a profile piece on the movie from the Wall Street Journal, executives at DC and WB always intended for the movie to be much shorter than last year’s BATMAN V. SUPERMAN, which clocked in at 151 minutes. A source told the WSJ that this requirement came all the way from Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara. This was a move made in tandem with the desire to make the movie "less serious and more hopeful" than BVS, which was one reason Joss Whedon was brought in to do some work on the script (and later oversaw reshoots and the movie's completion after Zack Snyder left for family reasons).

If true, the decision to make a shorter movie was made so as to ensure JL would be more of a straight-up crowd pleaser centering on the team coming together so they can fight the evil Steppenwolf. This may not sound like the best news for those who appreciated what Snyder did with BVS, but word is the slight shift in style has helped the movie, with early test screenings apparently earning scores close to WONDER WOMAN’s test screenings.

Coming out of those test screenings assures Ezra Miller’s The Flash will be the standout of the film, with Toby Emmerich, president of Warner’s motion picture division, saying the Flash solo movie, FLASHPOINT, is a high priority for the studio.

The shorter runtime for JL is not quite the bad thing some folks on the internet claim it to be. If the goal is to make a true crowd-pleaser then a leaner runtime is a way to go. This keeps the focus on the team and the action, without tons of added on exposition and needless moments. Early test screenings have so far hinted at solid superhero blockbuster, which is great news, and in ten days we will all be able to find out for ourselves. 

JUSTICE LEAGUE arrives November 17.

Source: WSJ

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