Why Zack Snyder's Justice League Isn't Releasing as a Series
Zack Snyder explains why Justice League was changed from a four-part miniseries to a four-hour film. Zack Snyder's Justice League is finally arriving to watch on HBO Max in March that will continue the story the director started in Man of Steel and Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Zack Snyder's Justice League was always intended to be released as a film, but at one point it was considered to be released as a mini-series.
At DC FanDome, Snyder announced that Justice League would premiere on HBO Max as four one-hour installments on HBO Max, with the indication each chapter would drop once a week. This makes a certain amount of sense as HBO Max will become a major home for DC Entertainment mini-series including the upcoming Peacemaker spinning out of The Suicide Squad and Gotham P.D which will serve as a prequel to The Batman. While Zack Snyder's Justice League would have been a fitting first start to the DC mini-series, that plan was scrapped and the reason why is now revealed.
At IGN Fan Fest, Snyder made an appearance and confirmed that the decision to go from the announced mini-series to a four-hour film came down to if certain contracts behind the scenes and if they would allow for it. While he toyed with the idea of doing the mini-series, the ability to watch it at home makes the four-hour film more accessible as audiences can pause the movie to use the restroom or grab food at their choice. Snyder also made a point of noting that fans have waited long enough, he doesn't want them to wait any longer.
The contracts for the stars and various high-up crew members is something that might not be immediately on the minds of fans, yet given the status of the film and certain precedent behind it that would raise a lot of logistical questions. Zack Snyder has stated he passed on getting paid in exchange to have complete freedom on the project, but Warner Bros. would have had to pay the actors who returned for the reshoot scenes and probably renegotiate contracts for the other stars of the movies as turning a cut of a film into a television series would change the conditions of the original contracts they signed and how they would receive compensation or residuals for it. WarnerMedia had to pay Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins over $10 million each when they moved Wonder Woman 1984 from a straight theatrical window to a day-in date release on HBO Max.
Another factor for the change might be AT&T's decision to launch all of their 2021 films in theaters and HBO Max simultaneously. When the Snyder Cut miniseries was announced in August 2020 HBO Max was still a new streaming service and the COVID-19 pandemic put a delay on a lot of the new programming they had planned. Stretching Justice League across four weeks would be a good way to get people to stay signed up for the app for a month and hopefully carry over until the next big project. Now though with the stream of high-profile movies, they are now spacing out the bigger projects so nothing is lost in the shuffle. Zack Snyder's Justice League now arrives on HBO Max two weeks before Godzilla Vs Kong and a whole month before Mortal Kombat. With theaters not quite open yet, HBO Max will be providing fans with a month full of highly anticipated films they can enjoy from home.
Next: How Snyder's DCEU Already Teased Green Lantern's Introduction
Source: IGN Fan Fest
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