Director Zack Snyder's 4-hour long cut of Justice League has finally seen the light
of earth's yellow sun.
When Snyder had to step away from the DC Extended Universe's all star team-up in 2016 after
a tragedy in his family, Warner Bros. enlisted Avengers writer-director Joss Whedon to finish
the film.
Whedon's version of Justice League was not well received on release.
It was panned critically and bombed at the box office.
The reputation of Whedon himself has also soured among the eyes of many amid accusations
that his Justice League reshoot set was, in the words of Cyborg actor Ray Fisher, "gross,
abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable."
"Booyah."
Fans rallied for Warner Bros. to "Release The Snyder Cut" — a once far-fetched wish
that's finally come true on HBO Max.
Most of the main Justice League stars were quick to come out in favor of the Snyder Cut,
including Jason Momoa , Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot , and Ray Fisher.
But Henry Cavill , who first played Superman in Snyder's 2013 film, Man of Steel, had mostly
stayed silent on the subject of the Snyder Cut — until now.
In a March 18, 2021 Instagram post, Henry Cavill congratulated Zack Snyder on the fulfilment
of his vision for the DC Extended Universe.
The star wrote,
"Here's to you Zack.
Congratulations!
I know this has been an arduous journey for you, you kept fighting, though.
I couldn't be happier to see your vision for Justice League realised.
And what a movie it is!"
Cavill knows a lot about fighting to see something get made; he was originally cast in a Superman
movie back in 2004 that was set to be directed by the filmmaker McG , and even got as close
as having a fitting for Superman's iconic cape.
But when Bryan Singer took over the project for what ultimately became Superman Returns,
he cast Brandon Routh in the role.
Cavill also used the #HopeNeverDies hashtag, in reference to his character's slogan in
promotion for the film.
Superman's logo, in some versions of comics lore, isn't a big S; it's actually the Kryptonian
symbol for hope.
Superman explains the symbol to Lois Lane in Man of Steel, and further elaborates in
the Whedon cut of Justice League that it takes its shape from a river.
“The symbol of the house of El means hope; embodied in that hope is the fundamental belief
in the potential of every person to be a force for good."
When asked about the Snyder Cut previously, Henry Cavill has played somewhat coy.
When asked by entertainment reporter Jake Hamilton why he had remained silent while
the rest of the cast joined the call for the Snyder Cut, Cavill said he declined to speak
for a decidedly unserious reason.
He said,
"I miss my mustache — which is the most important thing.
And for me, it was just a harrowing reminder that I didn't have it anymore.
And so I just didn't want to dig that wound any deeper."
Cavill grew the 'stache for Mission: Impossible — Fallout and was legally prevented from
being allowed to shave it off during the Justice League reshoots.
"Well, I knew you didn't bring me back because you liked me."
The result, as many know, was that producers spent millions digitally removing the mustache
from every frame of Superman's screen time.
The final effect flew Supes right into the uncanny valley for many viewers, so you'd
think Cavill would at least be happy to finally have his real face in the spotlight in Zack
Snyder's Justice League.
Producers at DC and Warner Bros. are currently maintaining that the Snyder Cut is not canon
in the DCEU, so Clark Kent's fate hasn't really changed between now and 2017.
But the critical acclaim being thrown at Zack Snyder's Justice League may change that.
As columnist Owen Gleiberman wrote in his review of the film for Variety,
"Zack Snyder's Justice League is the movie that shows us, at last, what the DCEU could
be ... Now that that's happened, to leave Snyder by the wayside seems not merely unjust;
it strikes me as foolhardy."
In other words, some critics think that Warner Bros. should think twice about ignoring the
fanbase to which they just capitulated.
Henry Cavill has expressed interest in returning to the role.
As he told Men's Health in 2019,
"The cape is in the closet.
It's still mine."
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