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[SlimySnake]

Great article from Variety on a potential sequel to Zach Snyder's Justice League.

For 45 years, Hollywood has churned out sequels to more or less any movie that makes a big enough splash at the box office. The rationale has always been simple: The fans want it. Starting in the mid-’70s, with “Jaws” and “Rocky” and “Star Wars,” fan service became the model, the engine, the economic blueprint of the movie business. Yet it was a double-edged sword.

In the age of comic-book cinema we now occupy (or maybe I should say: that now occupies us), only one thing can make a fantasy blockbuster come fully and thrillingly alive.

“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” has that thing. What is it? You could call it vision, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But it’s also something I would call voice. That’s not a quality we associate with comic-book movies, but the rare great ones have it. And in “Justice League,” Zack Snyder’s voice comes through in ways at once large and small. It’s there in the doomy Wagnerian grandeur, and in the puckish way the movie hones on a seed coming off a hot-dog bun in the bullet-time sequence that introduces the Flash’s superpowers. It’s there in the way the backstories don’t just set up the characters but intertwine their fates, and in the way that Snyder, leaving Joss Whedon’s genial jokiness on the cutting-room floor, replaces it with a sincerity so present it doesn’t have to speak its name. It’s there in the majestic symphonic rigor of the battle scenes, and in how the villains, the glittering-with-malice Steppenwolf and the dripping-with-molten-corruption Darkseid, comprise a threat at once relentless and remorseless.

In “Justice League,” Zack Snyder sits astride the pop moviemaking machine. He’s not just telling a story that’s greater than the sum of its parts. He’s speaking through that story, crafting a parable of camaraderie and faith. It should be said that my reaction to the film — loving every minute of it, to the point that I’m itching to see it again — isn’t universal. Some critics thumbed their noses; not every fan is onboard. Yet from what I’ve seen, the reaction to Snyder’s “Justice League” has gone beyond the “Well, it’s much better than the 2017 version” feeling that even the naysayers acknowledged. There’s a collective excitement about the movie. And for those of us who have fallen for it, part of the excitement is seeing a comic-book film that’s unabashedly conventional (it doesn’t have a character like, say, Heath Ledger’s Joker) yet one that serves up those conventions with such bravura that in some ineffable way, it feels like a personal movie. It’s not an art film, for God’s sake, but it’s a studio blockbuster made by someone who imprints his personality on every scene and means every scene.

Now that that’s happened, to leave Snyder by the wayside seems not merely unjust; it strikes me as foolhardy. The Warner Bros. executives will, of course, look at the numbers — at how well the film performs on HBO Max. I suspect the news there will be good. But this can’t be a decision based simply on numbers. The mobilization of fans behind #ReleaseTheSnyderCut was kind of awesome; they were comic-book-movie geeks who moved a mountain. And now that we’ve seen the results, their passion to do it again may be even greater. Whatever plan Warner Bros. now has in place, the reality is that plans can change. Minds can change. After “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” on what planet would an executive have to be on not to want Snyder to make a “Justice League” sequel? Only on a planet where even the potential artistry of mainstream moviemaking must always take a back seat to corporate control.

Great write. well worth a full read. https://variety.com/2021/film/colum...d-to-make-a-justice-league-sequel-1234935269/

He does bring up a good point about why hollywood makes sequels. For the fans. banking on them to come and spend their money to watch what is essentially the same movie again. So why not? especially now that the reception has been so overwhelmingly positive. Not to mention the quality of the movie should be apparent to any hollywood executive worth a damn. the author of the write brings up directors like spielberg and james cameron who are able to elevate sequels from boring needless movies to something more. Zach has done that here. and if the foreshadowing/premonitions are any indication, we are in for a hell of a ride for the next two movies.

I know not every justice league fan wants them to go that route but thats whats so exciting about zach snyder's justice league. yes, its for fans but its snyder will never compromise on his vision and will do his own thing in a spectacular fashion.

They have already established multiple universes. I say bring it on.

 

[Reality Czar]

For 45 years, Hollywood has churned out sequels to more or less any movie that makes a big enough splash at the box office

Try 90 years:

Bride of Frankenstein - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Universal considered making a sequel to Frankenstein as early as its 1931 preview screenings, following which the film's original ending was changed to allow for Henry Frankenstein's survival.

But yes, i feel like they will do more JL stuff because they need streaming content and this is actually popular.

Now that he has already worked this way, they probably have all the pipelines already set up. I'll be surprised if they don't tbh.

 

[Hatemachine]

I don't think we're getting more sequels. The decision to finally release ZSJL came from daddy AT&T who wanted content for HBO Max. It's not like the WB execs suddenly had a change of heart and wanted to do right by the fans. There is seemingly a lot of bad blood between Snyder and the studio. He recently said that studio refused to let him put in Jon Stewart as the Green Lantern in the ZSJL ending, which resulted in Snyder almost refusing to do the movie (in the end he replaced with Martian Manhunter). Not to mention you have Cyborg's actor spouting off on Twitter about WB execs being racist. WB's announcement about a new Superman a few weeks back also seems like it was deliberately done out of spite for Snyder and his film. Quite a bit of time has passed as well, it's been 5 years now since JL went into production. I don't think most of the actors are under contract at this point - Cavil for sure isn't. I just don't see it happening.

 

[Madflavor]

I don't think we're getting more sequels. The decision to finally release ZSJL came from daddy AT&T who wanted content for HBO Max. It's not like the WB execs suddenly had a change of heart and wanted to do right by the fans. There is seemingly a lot of bad blood between Snyder and the studio. He recently said that studio refused to let him put in Jon Stewart as the Green Lantern in the ZSJL ending, which resulted in Snyder almost refusing to do the movie (in the end he replaced with Martian Manhunter). Not to mention you have Cyborg's actor spouting off on Twitter about WB execs being racist. WB's announcement about a new Superman a few weeks back also seems like it was deliberately done out of spite for Snyder and his film. Quite a bit of time has passed as well, it's been 5 years now since JL went into production. I don't think most of the actors are under contract at this point - Cavil for sure isn't. I just don't see it happening.

Agreed. The Snyder cut was one thing because the leg work was already done. But actually getting all the actors back, and the greenlight from the studio to make another $200 million dollar movie? There's no way. That would need to true miracle to happen.

That being said, I think it's possible we could see the story finished, in the form of an animated series/movies, or a spin off comic series. But I think it's more likely Zack will just move on from this whole thing.

 

[skneogaf]

I'd love the sequels to happen and the new batman to continue so people will understand that there are multiple universe versions.

I'd like snyder to do the 3rd wonder woman movie too as she's so much better with zack than Jenkins.

 

[Hatemachine]

Agreed. The Snyder cut was one thing because the leg work was already done. But actually getting all the actors back, and the greenlight from the studio to make another $200 million dollar movie? There's no way. That would need to true miracle to happen.

That being said, I think it's possible we could see the story finished, in the form of an animated series/movies, or a spin off comic series. But I think it's more likely Zack will just move on from this whole thing.

Right. People keep citing HBO Max as a venue for future Snyder sequels, but HBO Max paying $70mil to do post production on 4 hours of footage that has already been shot is a far cry from spending $300mil to produce a brand new blockbuster movie. The financials just don't work - you can't make a return off of a movie that expensive without box office receipts.

The only thing I can think of that might work and would be cool would be an HBO Max series set in the Knightmare. Even that might be too expensive to produce however.

 

[Ferdinandthecowfish]

Not to mention you have Cyborg's actor spouting off on Twitter about WB execs being racist.

Ray Fisher seems like a bit of a nut, but after watching the Snyder cut I can understand why he was angry. He was a major part of the story and Wheadon reduced his role to a couple of minutes of screen time. Was it racism? Probably, not, but he still has every right to be pissed off.

 

[quickwhips]

It's not a good vision guys. Let it go and move on with the reboot to try again.

 

[SlimySnake]

Right. People keep citing HBO Max as a venue for future Snyder sequels, but HBO Max paying $70mil to do post production on 4 hours of footage that has already been shot is a far cry from spending $300mil to produce a brand new blockbuster movie. The financials just don't work - you can't make a return off of a movie that expensive without box office receipts.

The only thing I can think of that might work and would be cool would be an HBO Max series set in the Knightmare. Even that might be too expensive to produce however.

i agree that the financials dont work for hbo max, but as a full movie it will do well. sequels tend to be far less riskier than starting new IPs so now that this franchise isnt poisoned anymore, this might be the right time to go back to the well.

 

[ManaByte]

Ray Fisher seems like a bit of a nut, but after watching the Snyder cut I can understand why he was angry. He was a major part of the story and Wheadon reduced his role to a couple of minutes of screen time. Was it racism? Probably, not, but he still has every right to be pissed off.

The guy was about to go and film The Flash next month but he had to go and spout off how he'll never be in a DC movie as long as Hamada is in charge of the movies so they wrote him out of the movie.

 

[Ferdinandthecowfish]

The guy was about to go and film The Flash next month but he had to go and spout off how he'll never be in a DC movie as long as Hamada is in charge of the movies so they wrote him out of the movie.

Like I said, a bit of a nut.

Seems to have some anger issues too.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Justice league is the best super hero movie in quite some time thanks to the resurgence it got from the synder cut but at the end of the day they’re cowards if they don’t do Justice League 2 we got 4, 5 home alone movies, milking terminator now is the time when these actors are in their prime.

 

[ManaByte]

Justice league is the best super hero movie in quite some time thanks to the resurgence it got from the synder cut but at the end of the day they’re cowards if they don’t do Justice League 2 we got 4, 5 home alone movies, milking terminator now is the time when these actors are in their prime.

All of the Home Alone movies combined cost less to make than even ZSJL.

 

[Hatemachine]

It's not a good vision guys. Let it go and move on with the reboot to try again.

Snyder's vision isn't perfect, but I appreciate his willingness to take risks and push the envelope a bit. If we get a reboot the result is going to be bland, inoffensive MCU style films that are safe for children. Probably filled with wokeness. I don't want to live in that timeline.

 

[ManaByte]

If we get a reboot the result is going to be bland, inoffensive MCU style films that are safe for children. Probably filled with wokeness. I don't want to live in that timeline.

You're going to get the JJ Abrams DC Mystery Box and like it.

 

[MrS]

It's not a good vision guys. Let it go and move on with the reboot to try again.

It's unlike anything we've seen in that space and Snyder does have a vision and a unique way of storytelling. I'd like to see them continue to go down this road, if only to see where it leads.

 

[quickwhips]

It's unlike anything we've seen in that space and Snyder does have a vision and a unique way of storytelling. I'd like to see them continue to go down this road, if only to see where it leads.

I like snyder movie but to me it's not what I want in a dc movie.

 

[Rentahamster]

The guy was about to go and film The Flash next month but he had to go and spout off how he'll never be in a DC movie as long as Hamada is in charge of the movies so they wrote him out of the movie.

When keeping it real goes wrong.

 

[Madflavor]

The guy was about to go and film The Flash next month but he had to go and spout off how he'll never be in a DC movie as long as Hamada is in charge of the movies so they wrote him out of the movie.

Hold the fucking phone. If Hamada and WB are so racist, why are they making their poster boy black in the Superman reboot? I'm not saying this to you directly, I'm just saying in general.

 

[sol_bad]

I wonder.
Snyder needed an extra 70 million to complete his cut. Granted, his theatrical cut would not have been 4 hours, most likely 3 hours, possibly 3.5 hours.
Are finances the reason that Snyder was booted from the project? Because more money was required than what was projected? Even at 3-3.5 hours he would have needed millions of dollars to complete his cut. It's hard to say because obviously Whedon's new scenes required extra budget to be incorporated, but was it 70 million worth of extra budget?

*EDIT*
Jesus, it cost 300 million to make the 2017 version? I guess Whedon did inflate the budget.

 

[ManaByte]

I wonder.
Snyder needed an extra 70 million to complete his cut. Granted, his theatrical cut would not have been 4 hours, most likely 3 hours, possibly 3.5 hours.
Are finances the reason that Snyder was booted from the project? Because more money was required than what was projected? Even at 3-3.5 hours he would have needed millions of dollars to complete his cut. It's hard to say because obviously Whedon's new scenes required extra budget to be incorporated, but was it 70 million worth of extra budget?

*EDIT*
Jesus, it cost 300 million to make the 2017 version? I guess Whedon did inflate the budget.

Whedon's scenes were reshoots, which are usually factored into the budget and shooting schedule unless it's something like Rogue One where the entire third act is redone after the CEO hated the original version.

 

[DeafTourette]

I wonder.
Snyder needed an extra 70 million to complete his cut. Granted, his theatrical cut would not have been 4 hours, most likely 3 hours, possibly 3.5 hours.
Are finances the reason that Snyder was booted from the project? Because more money was required than what was projected? Even at 3-3.5 hours he would have needed millions of dollars to complete his cut. It's hard to say because obviously Whedon's new scenes required extra budget to be incorporated, but was it 70 million worth of extra budget?

*EDIT*
Jesus, it cost 300 million to make the 2017 version? I guess Whedon did inflate the budget.

His daughter committed Suicide... And he tried working through it but got tired of fighting with the execs on the movie. So he left. That's when they brought in Whedon.

And they mandated a 2 hour runtime.

 

[finowns]

Hold the fucking phone. If Hamada and WB are so racist, why are they making their poster boy black in the Superman reboot? I'm not saying this to you directly, I'm just saying in general.

Are you kidding? According to leftist a white person can be married to a black person and still be racist.

 

[DeafTourette]

Are you kidding? According to leftist a white person can be married to a black person and still be racist.

This is true. A close friend was married to a white man (she's biracial) who routinely called her racial epithets and allowed his mother to call her the N-word.

He's now married to a white woman and miserable. Because my friend was the best thing to ever happen to him.

This isn't uncommon (uncommon doesn't mean common, btw)

 

[DeafTourette]

Hold the fucking phone. If Hamada and WB are so racist, why are they making their poster boy black in the Superman reboot? I'm not saying this to you directly, I'm just saying in general.

Folks are jumping to the conclusion that Abrams' Superman will be black because Ta-Nahesi Coates is black and he wrote Black Panther comics.

It could just as easily be the Earth 2 Superman from the Golden Age

 

[Cockles & Whelks]

Snyder's vision isn't perfect, but I appreciate his willingness to take risks and push the envelope a bit. If we get a reboot the result is going to be bland, inoffensive MCU style films that are safe for children. Probably filled with wokeness. I don't want to live in that timeline.

Agreed. The new Disney shows in the MCU adhere to the cookie cutter formula that I've become bored of now. Every MCU film looks the same. Sounds the same. I honestly couldn't give a fuck for Phase 4.

 

[Madflavor]

Folks are jumping to the conclusion that Abrams' Superman will be black because Ta-Nahesi Coates is black and he wrote Black Panther comics.

It could just as easily be the Earth 2 Superman from the Golden Age

You don't hire Ta-Nahesis Coates for a Superman movie, unless you're doing Black Superman. Not to mention there's been rumors circulating for a couple years now that WB was looking into Black Superman. It's happening.

 

[Guy Legend]

Continue the main story line. All the other stuff can be included as part of the multiverse and tied together in future as necessary.