Over the years, there has been speculation about how different the Justice League will be around Snyder Cut and Zack Snyder. Now we know every change.

Zach Schneider’s "Justice League" is being played on HBO Max and other platforms around the world, so now we can finally see how it differs from the 2017 edited version of Joss Weiden. Snyder Cut represents Zack Snyder's purely original vision of the Justice League before he left this project. Warner Bros. and Jos Weiden re-written and re-shot it to completely change the story and tone. It's not just color changes and some deletions. The scene, but outside the basic plot framework is almost a completely different movie (although there are some changes).

Due to the constant demand for his film version, HBO Max saw an opportunity and gave Snyder $70 million to complete his editing according to his original idea. So far, he has seen strong audience and critical reactions. Many viewers were shocked by the real difference in Snyder Cut.

Related: Justice League’s Anti-Life Explanation: Why the Earth is Important

Due to the huge difference and 4 hours of running time, it is impractical to list every small adjustment or scene addition, so this article will cover everything from colors, music, and aspect ratios to restored characters and changed plot lines The main difference.

One of the most obvious changes in Snyder Cut is the restoration of Snyder's original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. During the main filming, Snyder hopes to use the typical IMAX ratio throughout the film, which is different from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is only used in a few scenes. The extra vertical space allowed Snyder and cinematographer Fabian Wagner to compose a picture in a way that couldn't capture the same image exactly on a widescreen, which is why many Whedon retakes felt poorly composed and too tight. Snyder's aesthetic likes the posture of figures and statues. The change from wide screen to square screen allows one person to occupy most of the shot without being cut too tightly.

Since the release of 300, Zack Snyder has been known for his visual aesthetics. His aesthetic choices are one of the more polarizing aspects of his filmmaking methods, as well as the darker, more natural, and higher-contrast appearance of "Man of Steel" and "Batman V" Superman: Dawn of Justice for some people It's a controversial topic, so this is one of the biggest changes in the Jos Weeden version of the movie.

The dramatic cut not only brightens each shot, but also increases the saturation of the color levels, adding a nearly salmon-colored hue to the entire movie. Everything is more orange and pink, especially the skin color. The entire third scene is bathed in red-orange light, which eventually dilutes most of the contrast, making the visual effect far less popular.

Of course, Snyder has returned to his favorite taste in Snyder Cut, although it should be pointed out that due to the characters and stories told, there are many visual changes that make it brighter and more colorful than Batman v Superman, and may even exceed iron Man. Of course, the third act also restored its dark, high-contrast appearance, which is one of the most acclaimed aspects of the film.

Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) worked with Hans Zimmer in Man of Steel. After graduation, he shared the credit with him in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and he will become a Justice League member before Snyder steps down and Danny Elfman is hired. The only recognized composer replaced Holkenburg.

Related: Justice League Snyder Cut reverses BvS's Martha Moment (prove it)

Although most of his scores have been completed, Holkenberg spent 8 months in 2020 creating a brand new score, which he called "Mount Everest" because it is the longest score ever released. . Although Elfman's more whimsical style and iconic Batman '89 soundtrack are iconic, it doesn't fit the original tone of the movie at all. However, the 4-hour score of Junkie XL brings all the bass drums and vigor that a large Snyder project expects, but also includes the iconic Hans Zimmer superman theme in Man of Steel.

Although the drama Justice League has only two hours, Zach Schneider's Justice League has 4 hours. Snyder was commissioned by Warner Bros. for 2 hours as part of his main struggle with film editing before he left. Presumably, Whedon received the same request because his editing time was exactly two hours.

If Snyder's film were to be shown in theaters in 2017, it would be almost impossible to have four hours. It’s hard to see the studio agree to more than 3 hours. Even then it will be very difficult, but due to the nature of the "Release Snyder Cut" and HBO Max streaming releases, Snyder has more leeway in this regard. The product brings a purer "Snyder experience". Since only about half of the Whedon version uses Snyder lenses (albeit cropped and recolored), Zack Snyder's Justice League has approximately 3 hours of footage excluded in 2017.

Zach Schneider’s "Justice League" divides its 4-hour running time into 6 different chapters and an epilogue. Before entering the next chapter, all chapters are marked by a fade-in black screen and a title card. Each chapter in the movie has a clear theme and arc, and the chapter card does a good job of dividing the 4 hours of running time into content that is much more consuming than many people expected. Since the Justice League in 2017 only had 2 hours and many minor episodes quoted in the chapter title card were missing, they were excluded from this version.

Zach Schneider is known for R-rated violence in most of his films, which is fully demonstrated in Zach Schneider's Justice League. Although Iron Man is PG-13, Snyder's "Batman v Superman" ("Ultimate Edition") edit is widely considered to be a better edit and also includes R grades. This movie includes many 300 styles of action, complete CGI blood spray, and 3 different bombs can be heard throughout the process.

One of the biggest criticisms of the Justice League in 2017 was Steppenwolves. Not only was his background story and motivation cut in the final editing, but his voice was also fairly non-threatening, but the biggest criticism was his design and visual effects. Steppenwolf was originally announced at the end of "Batman v Superman" (only in the director's cut version of Zach Schneider), but they changed his design to be more like a Justice League person, but it didn't work. . Part of the problem is that the lack of decoration of the character makes him feel fake, but his design is not inherently scary.

Related: Full Darkside Timeline Explanation of the Justice League

Zach Schneider’s "Justice League" undoubtedly changed this, and this is one of the most praised differences, that is, returning to the terrifying, alien-like Steppenwolf with his spikes armor. The armor itself is almost a character, constantly changing and becoming more or less spiked, adding variable strength to steppenwolves at all times. His voice is also more modulated, making him more ferocious, making the Justice League a truly threatening enemy.

Since Snyder's original film was completely rewritten and re-shot by Jos Weeden, many characters did not enter the final editing of the film, many of which were characters in DC comics and played an important role after restoration. Zach Schneider's Justice League, and several roles added after the fact in 2020. Roles include:

Martian Manhunter (and Harry Lennix)

Since Snyder Cut lasts 4 hours, there is more room for character development, which is one of the biggest improvements of the movie. The introduction scene between Flash and Iris West is a good entry point for his character. Aquaman’s Atlantis outpost tour establishes more of his background story and motivation. Wonder Woman’s connection (and separation from Amazons) ) Became the main focus of her arc, and after Batman died of Superman in "Batman v Superman", he tried to atone for his crimes, which became the central focus of his role.

The biggest beneficiary of the extended arc is Cyborg and the related Silas Stone. Even before the Justice League's release in 2017, Steel Frame was hailed as the core of the movie. Except for the GCPD rooftop scene, every steel frame scene was re-shot by Wheaton, so Steel frame saw a completely changed story that made him the emotional core of the movie. Silas Stone’s sacrifice ending and ending monologue added a lot to Steel and other characters, making his restored role an integral part of Zach Schneider’s Justice League.

In order to complete some elements that Snyder did not shoot in the main photography, he brought back some actors for a short reshoot in October 2020. Additional photography takes up 4-5 minutes of footage, and includes a knight dream scene at the end, Batman, Steel Skeleton, Flash, Mela, Deathstroke, and Joker. They face a suspenseful ending with the evil Superman as the protagonist.

Snyder also filmed a short moment of Harry Lennicks to show his transformation to the Martian hunter, and joined him in a brief exchange with Bruce Wayne after Bruce Wayne was awakened after the Cavaliers dream scene. In this exchange, the characters of Affleck and Lennicks are both from a 2020 remake, although a similar version of Affleck’s character was shot during the main photography, when the purpose was to introduce Green Lantern instead of Mars hunter.

Snyder Cut adds some Superman moments that reuse Superman shots from "Man of Steel" and "Batman v Superman." They are just small moments that most viewers may not notice, but in the Knight Dream of Iron Man, when Superman is seen kneeling and holding the body of Louise Lane, Darkside put his hand on Superman On his shoulders, this is the scene of Superman killing Zod in "Man of Steel", only the scene is reversed.

Related: How Zach Schneider's Justice League builds a sequel

The second shot is at the end of Knightmare. It was repurposed from Batman v Superman, when Superman fell into Nairomi's house, where he rescued Louise Lane from the warlord. Only people familiar with the original footage can recognize these two photos, but due to the 2020 pandemic restrictions and Henry Cavill's busy schedule for filming "The Witcher", he was unable to participate in Snyder's remake.

Speaking of Henry Cavill and the reshooting schedule, when Jos Weiden was originally reshooting in 2017, Henry Cavill was filming mission: Impossible-Fallout and unable to shave him to play August Walker Out beard. As a result, they had to digitally remove Henry Cavill's mustache for the Justice League, and the result was not outstanding, leading to the Internet meme of Henry Cavill's Uncanny Valley face for many years.

Cavill didn’t have a beard in Snyder’s main photography, so the problem was entirely a product of Wheaton’s reshoot, so Henry Cavill had a shaved face in all scenes in Zach Snyder’s Justice League .

In order to add more personal benefits to the film, rather than just focusing on heroes, Jos Weeden added additional scenes, including a Russian family at their home near the Steppenwolf nuclear reactor in Pozharnov. In Whedon's version, the family has never fully adapted, and found it cheap and distracting, while in Snyder Cut there is no.

Justice League 2017 cut most of the background story and settings of the new character. One of the victims was Flash’s introductory scene. When he rescued Iris West from a car accident, he was applying for a job as a dog walker. A lot of effort to build his character, personality and skills. This is also one of the more touching and humorous moments in the movie, so it's weird that Whedon deleted it because it was exactly the kind of thing Warner Bros. asked him to add.

Aquaman traveled to the Atlantis outpost in the Justice League in 2017, but Snyder's editing has more interaction, including setting up Aquaman background story and motivational scenes with Vulko. This scene also explains where Neptune's armor and trident came from, because they only appeared in Justice League 2017 without any explanation. In another scene, Steppenwolf drags Atlantis soldiers to land and asks them about the location of the mother box.

The history flashback scene follows the same general plot as Justice League 2017, but the main difference is that it features Darkside instead of Steppenwolves. Most importantly, it is longer, better edited, there are more Green Lanterns in it, and there is a more epic battle (albeit short) between Darkside and Ares. In addition, in this version, it is obvious that the alliance of Atlanians, Amazons and humans (having a more diverse human tribe than before) has won more clearly, significantly changing our vs. Darkside vs. Earth Threat perception and why the mother box will sleep for so long.

Related: Is Snyder Cut better than the 2017 Justice League?

Zach Schneider has always wanted Superman to wear a black suit after the League resurrected him from the dead, just like in the comics. Unfortunately, Warner Bros. does not allow this, so instead, Snyder worked with his team to make and shoot the Superman suit. If he can change the idea of ​​WB, it will be easier to convert to black and silver in post-production. Obviously this did not happen in the drama, but Snyder Cut has all the glory of the black and silver suit.

Just like how Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice explores the climax of Iron Man from a new perspective, Zach Schneider’s Justice League opens with the death of Superman in Batman v Superman, showing how Batman and Wonder Woman have done to him. The sacrificial reaction, which is also Bruce's inspiration, Wayne's entire arc brings the Justice League together.

This was cut in 2017 in Justice League to support mobile video of two children interviewing Superman. Although there may be a version of the Superman movie that worked in that antique video, it not only does not match the rest of the film completely tonal, but also highlights Henry Cavill’s CGI beard removal, which needless to say is a harsh way Open the movie.

In the 2017 Justice League, most of the Snyder's sequel settings were cut or changed because DCEU is moving in a different direction, but the characters have returned to their original endings, which is largely due to self-defense. Cancelled solo and prepared-film, with a few exceptions.

Batman rounded up a gang of criminals and tied them up in front of his tank-like "war machine". An important detail of this shot is that the criminal is tied up, and he is known for branding, severely injuring or killing criminals in his introduction to Batman vs. Superman. There is another scene in which Lex Luther tells the death knell that Bruce Wayne is Batman, which laid the foundation for Affleck's cancelled single-player movie.

Wonder Woman holds the Arrow of Artemis and looks out at the sea, suggesting that she is looking for a way to return to the people on Themis Sila, and a different version of Wonder Woman 2 may be built, although because of the magic The Heroine 1984 is a prequel, and the story is not over yet.

Related: Zach Schneider's Justice League: Every Easter Egg and DCEU Reference

Barry Allen revealed to his father his "dabbling" work in the crime laboratory and produced a sequel, Cyborg helped him clear his father's reputation. Although the new version of the Flash movie may deal with Barry’s attempt to justify his father, the steel frame has been removed due to the conflict between Ray Fisher and DC Film Company’s Walter Hamada. .

The last scene of Aquaman was prepared for his personal movie. He told Vulko that he was going home to see his father. Although the setup itself is quite clean, Snyder Cut does introduce some minor continuity contradictions with Aquaman.

The ending of Cyborg shows that he reassembled the tape recorder with Silas Stone's ending message, indicating that his technical capabilities are expanding, and Silas' overall appeal in the message is for him to accept and grow as a hero. According to reports, Cyborg’s final plan is to make him almost as powerful as Dr. Manhattan, so this is definitely a step in this direction.

The ending of Superman shows him playing the role of Clark Kent again and performing a classic shirt tear, just like theatrical tailoring, except that now he is wearing a black and silver Superman suit.

Ryan Choi also has his own moment here. He was appointed as the head of nanotechnology at STAR Labs. He just said "that's my business". Snyder later revealed that he recommended an Atom movie with a Chinese cast to WB.

Although the basic premise to prevent Steppenwolf from destroying the world with its mother box is the same, the third act of battle in Zach Schneider's Justice League is quite different. The absence of the entire red hue is an obvious main difference, but it is also longer, more violent, and has more teamwork between the leagues, including epic accelerated team shots.

Fresh was absent most of the time in the drama editing to save civilians, but in the Snyder editing, he was actually speeding up, letting the steel bone charge and helping to project him into the mother box to prevent unity . He failed and the unity exploded, so he must run fast enough to cross back to save the alliance before handing the charge to Cyborg. In addition, Steppenwolf was not dragged away by the parade as in the drama editing. Instead, a Boom Tube was opened, revealing Darkside, Dessard and the kind grandma. Steppenwolf was penetrated and Wonder Woman chopped. He lowered his head, rolled his head under Darkside's boots, and then was crushed. Darkside then told Dessard to prepare the invincible fleet to invade the earth. If there is no mother box, they will have to "do things the old way."

After a polarizing reaction to the Knightmare scene of Batman v Superman, the storyline was completely removed from the 2017 Justice League. Of course, Snyder's editing brought it back to anger. Starting from the Knightmare illusion of Cyborg, the mother box scorched the earth. He saw Wonder Woman die on the funeral pyre, while Darkside was watching, and he caught a glimpse of Darkside using Omega beams to kill Aquaman and Fulco, and the Easter eggs of several major characters in the scenes of the destroyed Justice Hall, including the corpse of Green Lantern Kilovag.

Related: Justice League's full Knightmare and future timeline explanation

In the end, the biggest reveal of this vision is Superman. He knelt in the bat cave holding the burned corpse of Louise Lane, while Darkside stood beside him, putting his hand on his shoulder, because Superman was about to succumb. The future of Knightmare, the anti-life equation that should have started.

Snyder Cut finally has an additional Knightmare scene that reveals Batman's Knightmare Justice League, including Cyborg, Flash, Mera and Deathstroke. The scene shows Batman forming an uneasy alliance with the Joker before Superman arrives. His eyes are red and Bruce wakes up suddenly.

Next post: Zach Schneider's Justice League: All endings, cliffs and settings explained

Stephen has been writing for the site since 2016, and loves all kinds of movies and TV, especially when it has reason to indulge in trivial details. Ever since Stephen wore a VHS copy of Star Wars when he was 7 years old, he has been fascinated by movie magic on the screen. To reduce box office trends, or indulge in Rotten Tomatoes data, Stephen lives in the details, because his podcast’s audience, Batman vs. Superman: By the Minute (with the same screen roaring editor Andrew Days) knows it well. When he is not writing on the website, Stephen can be found obsessed with vintage camera lenses, chasing his children, or causing trouble on Twitter @smcolbert. Yes, this is his real name.