HBO Max president aims for early to mid-2021 release for the JL Snyder Cut

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

When HBO Max announced that fans would finally get to the see the Zack Snyder cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE on their streaming platform, there was still the matter of exactly when that would happen. On the day of the announcement, it was revealed the new cut would be coming in 2021 but an exact date wasn't set at the time. While a solid date isn't quite penciled in just yet, HBO Max president Sandra Dewey is revealing the timeframe she believes the Snyder Cut will hit their platform.

Sandra Dewey recently delivered a keynote address at the virtual Cannes market and since she oversees HBO Max directly, the question of the release date of the Snyder Cut was brought up. While Dewey couldn't get more specific, she says that we can expect to see it debut in "early to mid-2021." Again, it's not a huge revelation, but at least they have an idea on when the cut could be ready to make its debut and considering Zack Snyder has already been working on the cut for several months behind the scenes, there must be some confidence that this timetable is feasible for release. 

I think the misconception is that this cut of the film was just sitting and waiting to be released by Warner Bros. The fact of the matter is, an assembly cut did exist but it was far from finished and this is why the studio is spending $30 million or more to complete the extensive visual effects work needed to complete the cut as well as get the cast back for some additional voice work. There was some hope that Snyder could do reshoots with some of the cast but doesn't appear to be something that is likely to happen at this time.

A clip, or what some have dubbed a teaser trailer, recently dropped that gave us a tiny peek of some of the new material that will be presented in the new cut, including our first look at Darkseid in action. The villain did not appear in the theatrical cut, which was largely a product of Joss Whedon's rewrites and reshoots when Snyder had to exit the project due to a personal family tragedy. That cut of the film grossed a disappointing $657 million worldwide against a budget of $300 million, before marketing costs. The film was also a critical misfire which began the aggressive fan campaigning to have the Snyder Cut released and this is where we stand today. The cut actually will exist and is no longer a myth and now it's just a matter of when and how fans will get to see it. The how has to do with if HBO Max will simply release the film as a completed 4-hour cut or drop it as a 6-episode miniseries. There is also the upcoming DCFandome event on August 22 which will likely give us more from the Snyder Cut ahead of its eventual 2021 release.

When do YOU think we'll get to see The Snyder Cut? Should HBO Max allow Snyder to take his time and not rush to release it due to fan demand?