How Long Was The Original Snyder Cut?

The Snyder Cut of Justice League on HBO Max runs four hours long, even though its previous runtime was announced as closer to three and a half hours.

Zack Snyder's Justice League runs a whopping four hours and two minutes long, to be precise, but early reports originally stated that the Snyder Cut would be 214 minutes, equivalent to three hours and 34 minutes. As long as this seemed at the time, it's still shorter than the four-hour version that was released on HBO Max. So where did the additional 28 minutes of footage come from, and is there, in fact, an "original Snyder Cut?"

The convoluted production story behind the Snyder Cut complicates the situation. The short answer is that a mix of Zack Snyder's Justice League reshoots and edits most likely just didn't add up to the originally planned 214 minutes. Back in December 2019, the dcfamily Instagram fan account posted Snyder's confirmation that the "director's cut" film reels did exist, complete with the stated running time of 214 minutes, but post-production plans have changed since then. Rather, that initial time was more of a prediction or estimate than a definitive length of the Snyder Cut. After all, Snyder didn't get a chance to complete post-production work until studio executives gave him the budget and the go-ahead.

Before the fan campaign to resurrect the Snyder Cut, though, the filmmaker was poised to release a shorter version than the behemoth now streaming on HBO Max. According to his producing partner and wife Deborah Snyder as reported by Polygon, Warner Bros. wanted a movie that was closer to two hours, which is exactly how long the theatrical version of Justice League runs right down to the minute. Unsurprisingly, the Snyders' version would have surpassed this running time, but Warner Bros.' restrictions still would never have let the film clock in at more than three hours at the most. Simply put, the Snyder Cut is not necessarily the same as Zack Snyder's planned theatrical cut.

Why The Snyder Cut Is Longer Than Previously Thought

Ironically, it was the advent of HBO Max that truly allowed Zack Snyder the freedom to craft his personal vision. The mysterious 214-minute version might have taken the form of a rough cut, but he didn't actually start physically finalizing the project until February 2020. That's when Snyder screened the film and pitched his distribution ideas to a room of handpicked executives from Warner Bros., HBO Max, and DC's film division, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Four hours may be too much to endure in a theater, but editing the film into an episodic format with chapters was a perfect fit for WarnerMedia's new streaming service.

Interestingly enough, three and a half hours is roughly the length of the Snyder Cut sans the Epilogue segment, which at least partially consists of footage from reshoots. Snyder reportedly spent the beginning months of the COVID-19 pandemic calling up the actors he worked with to confirm their availability. The Knightmare epilogue sequence and the Martian Manhunter scenes were shot after Snyder got approval to finalize his version, raising the extra production budget from between $20 million and $30 million, up to $70 million. Snyder himself stated that he only shot about four or five minutes of new footage, though these added scenes – including previously shot but perhaps not included footage – account for slightly more than that in the completed version (roughly eight minutes or so).

It's also important to note that, according to a Tweet from Snyder, the assembly cut was about five hours long, so there was still plenty of existing footage available to chop up and edit down to four hours. Even if Snyder stated all the way back in 2019 that his "director's cut" was three and a half hours long, the accessibility to funding for post-production work and additional reshoots, along with the sheer creative freedom to let loose on HBO Max, meant that his plans turned more flexible. A freedom that extended to releasing the director's original vision, and the ability to releases a fully black and white version of Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Next: The Snyder Cut Proves WB Killed Their Best Chance to Compete With Marvel