Zack Snyder's Justice League: Justice is Gray

Zack Snyder's Justice League is a hit with fans and critics on HBO Max and Sky Cinema. The director took to Twitter to announce an upcoming black and white version titled Zack Snyder's Justice League: Justice is Gray.

Zack Snyder's Justice League: Justice is Gray coming soon to @HBOMax. #SnyderCut pic.twitter.com/tT4GGngktI

— Zack Snyder's Justice League (@snydercut) March 21, 2021

A black and white IMAX 4:3 aspect ratio version is definitive. “That, to me, is the most fan-centric, most pure, most Justice League experience,” the Justice League director continued. “Because that’s how I lived with the movie for two years, in black and white…when I do the live-stream of the trailer, Steph and I colored a black and white version of the trailer. So the first version that I’m going to put out, and probably what I’m going to talk about on Tuesday, will be the black and white version of the trailer.”

Zack Snyder's Justice League: Justice is Gray will include exclusive extra footage of Jared Leto's Joker.

Pre-order Zack Snyder's Justice League on Blu-ray (affiliate link).

Will you be rewatching the 4-hour movie in black and white? Let me know in the comments below.

The Fellowship of the Justice League

The fabled #ReleaseTheSnyderCut of Justice League arrived on HBO Max and Sky Cinema this week, bringing with it the hefty expectations of millions of DC Comics fans (myself included) in lockdown.

It’s a uniquely fan-driven pop culture event arriving amidst a global pandemic where the creative industry is under siege from socio-economic forces.

Over six chapters and an epilogue, director Zack Snyder (Man of Steel) serves up an epic 4-hour IMAX comic book adventure with the scope of The Lord of the Rings, led by supervillain Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) as he searches for the 3 Mother Boxes to appease Darkseid (Ray Porter).

Meanwhile, Batman (Ben Affleck) is assembling a superhero team to thwart the threat of alien invasion in the aftermath of Superman’s (Henry Cavill) death in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

This parallels Marvel Studios’ decade-spanning The Infinity Saga in a condensed format, which has always been DC Comics’ big screen Achilles heel as nothing feels earned. However, the 4-hour format works here in a way not possible in a multiplex environment.

I decided to consume chapters, over consecutive evenings, on Sky Cinema and became immersed in an episodic story that has time to breath replete with a compelling origin story for Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and a playful interplay between beloved superheroes. The Flash's (Ezra Miller) banter with his superhero teammates is a standout.

In many ways, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is best viewed as a standalone movie (forcibly as I’ve not religiously followed the so-called SnyderVerse's appetite for destruction) and is vested further poignancy in the wake of Snyder’s daughter’s suicide during the production of the original movie, which culminated in his departure.

Whilst it retains the exuberant self-styled motifs of the director's oeuvre, Justice League has evolved into the Snyders touching tribute to their late daughter as a sense of loss and grief permeates the fabric of this operatic film. Even Superman’s iconic black suit could be construed as emblematic of mourning.

His best movie since Watchmen. Zack Snyder’s Justice League is the superhero recut I didn’t know I needed. The original, a hot mess under the auspices of director Joss Whedon (Avengers: Assemble), is now reforged into something special. HBO Max could be the perfect playground to continue his planned trilogy. #RestoreTheSnyderVerse is trending.

Final thoughts coalesce around the affecting memory of a conversation with a school friend who suddenly passed away. We’d mused on what if... ? there was a Snyder cut, and here it is. Think they would have approved.

Pre-order Zack Snyder's Justice League on Blu-ray (affiliate link).

Have you seen Zack Snyder’s Justice League? Let me know in the comments below.

Zack Snyder's Justice League on Sky Cinema

Zack Snyder's Justice League will premiere exclusively on Sky Cinema and NOW TV in the UK, day and date with HBO Max.

The much-maligned Justice League (2017) has received a $70 million do-over for HBO Max by director Zack Snyder (Man of Steel), who had to bow out of the production due to his daughter’s suicide. However, sources have subsequently suggested that there were studio concerns over the movie’s overly dark direction before Snyder’s familial tragedy.

Joss Whedon (Avengers) was parachuted in to finish Justice League but failed to replicate the critical and commercial success of Marvel Studios’ Avengers (2012).

Here's the official synopsis:

"In Zack Snyder's Justice League, determined to ensure Superman’s (Henry Cavill) ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) aligns forces with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions. The task proves more difficult than Bruce imagined, as each of the recruits must face the demons of their own pasts to transcend that which has held them back, allowing them to come together, finally forming an unprecedented league of heroes. Now united, Batman (Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) may be too late to save the planet from Steppenwolf, DeSaad and Darkseid and their dreadful intentions."

Now running at 4-hours, and rated R, the new recut of Justice League will be presented in six individual chapters and a 20-minute epilogue.

The chapters are titled:

“Don’t Count On It, Batman”

“The Age Of Heroes”

“Beloved Mother, Beloved Son”

“Change Machine”

“All The King’s Horses”

“Something Darker”

Epilogue: "A Father Twice Over"

Zack Snyder's Justice League premieres on HBO Max and Sky Cinema on 18th March. I'll be reviewing it soon.

Are you looking forward to Zack Snyder's Justice League? Let me know in the comments below.