After a nearly four-year wait, fans can finally watch the four-hour extended version of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which is much different from the theatrical version, in more ways than one.
The theatrical cut was comprised of footage Snyder initially shot, before leaving the production due to a family tragedy, and footage Joss Whedon shot during reshoots.
Now this four-hour mini-series is available on HBO Max, with Snyder revealing in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter that one of Jared Leto’s beloved lines, seen in the trailer, was ad-libbed.
Different: After a nearly four-year wait, fans can finally watch the four-hour extended version of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which is much different from the theatrical version, in more ways than one
Jared ad-libs: Now this four-hour mini-series is available on HBO Max, with Snyder revealing in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter that one of Jared Leto’s beloved lines, seen in the trailer, was ad-libbed
Warner Bros. released a trailer for Zack Snyder’s Justice League on Valentine’s Day, which featured Leto, returning as The Joker from 2016’s Suicide Squad, stating, ‘We live in a society,’ a nod towards a popular Internet meme.
The scene was part of the new footage Snyder shot during the reshoots – which reportedly cost Warner Bros. $70 million – though Snyder admitted the line was Leto’s idea.
‘We went back and forth a bit, and I’ll give Jared credit for that little ad-lib there, because it was really, really beautiful,’ Snyder admitted.
Suicide Squad: Warner Bros. released a trailer for Zack Snyder’s Justice League on Valentine’s Day, which featured Leto, returning as The Joker from 2016’s Suicide Squad, stating, ‘We live in a society,’ a nod towards a popular Internet meme
The scene in question was the most substantial piece of new footage for the movie, which Snyder wrote during COVID-19 quarantine.
‘It was based on a bunch of ideas that I had had over the years. I had been planting a bunch of Easter eggs in the other movies that I thought it was time to harvest into this scene,’ Snyder added.
However, even after writing the scene there was no guarantee Leto would utter those words, as he was unsure about returning for quite some time.
New footage: The scene in question was the most substantial piece of new footage for the movie, which Snyder wrote during COVID-19 quarantine
‘Zack and Jared talked for a while,’ revealed Zack’s wife, Justice League producer Deborah Snyder.
‘Before we approached the studio, he wanted to make sure that they would be interested. At first, it was like “No,” and then it was like, “Well, maybe,” and then Zack was like, “Do you want to see the scene that I worked on?”
Leto ended up shooting the scene separately from Ben Affleck, who returned as Batman, due to scheduling issues.
Separately: Leto ended up shooting the scene separately from Ben Affleck, who returned as Batman, due to scheduling issues
There had also been speculation that Ryan Reynolds was going to appear as Green Lantern, returning from his 2011 Warner Bros. film, which Reynolds himself denied.
Snyder admits, however, he was contemplating a way to bring Reynolds back as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern.
‘There was another idea I had for the Green Lantern that wasn’t Ryan, and so I thought that if we had gone down this path of Green Lantern, I would have had to have Ryan as the additional Lantern,’ the director said.
‘Filling out the Lantern Corps a little bit more than, say, just one Green Lantern,’ he added.
Scene: ‘Before we approached the studio, he wanted to make sure that they would be interested. At first, it was like “No,” and then it was like, “Well, maybe,” and then Zack was like, “Do you want to see the scene that I worked on?’