Depending on who you talk to, the Snyder Cut has either been one of the greatest cinematic achievements of the last decade or an earsore that everyone needs to stop talking about immediately. Both camps, though, are pretty much in agreement that the new version of Justice League is better than the one that arrived in cinemas a lifetime ago in 2017. Perhaps Zack Snyder's Justice League's greatest achievement, other than causing huge disruption to the ongoing internet discourse, is ridding the world of Henry Cavill's Superman's CGI upper lip.
When Joss Whedon took over directorial duties from Snyder, the incoming director reshot a lot of material. However, Cavill was, at the time, set to film Mission: Impossible, and his contract stipulated that the Justice League team could not remove his mustache for the shoot. So, rather than shave off the hair, Whedon was left having to digitally remove Cavill's face slug, and the results were... well, it was a talking point, let's put it that way.
Snyder, for his part, has never seen the Whedon version of Justice League, and therefore has never seen Superman's CGI lip in action. "I've only seen it in memes," Snyder told MTV News. "It was funny because part of me is happy that we were able to have that not be the total legacy of the hard work that [Cavill] had done over the last ten years, you know? It's sad to think that that could have been the last view that people had of Superman was with that, whatever that is."
Snyder has previously said that not a single frame of footage from the Whedon shoot was used in the Snyder Cut. There are certainly some major differences between the two versions – read the biggest differences between Zack Snyder's Justice League and Joss Whedon's.
The Snyder Cut is streaming on HBO Max now – and if you've watched all four hours of the Snyder Cut, check out our deep dives into the movie here:
- What would have happened in Zack Snyder's Justice League post-credits?
- Everything we know about Justice League 2
- Zack Snyder's Justice League ending explained
- The best HBO Max prices
