Hope continues to dim for fans clamoring to see a Zack Snyder cut of Justice League. A new report suggests it would cost millions to complete the director’s cut of the film, and Warner Bros. is highly unlikely to invest in the vision of a filmmaker they no longer see eye to eye with regarding the future of DC’s film slate.


The narrative of Justice League’s behind the scenes troubles is well established at this point. The team up film went into production shortly after the release of Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, which was pilloried by critics and proved highly divisive with audiences. There have been reports of some minor tweaks to the film’s tone and script before principal photography began, but Justice League was still going to be Snyder’s vision of the DC Universe. Reports surfaced claiming Snyder’s initial cut of the film was “unwatchable,” and Avengers writer/director Joss Whedon was brought in to address the script issues.


Unfortunately, Snyder suffered a family tragedy that led him to depart the production, and Whedon oversaw the Justice League reshoots and post-production process. The resulting film was a mishmash of Snyder and Whedon’s decidedly different styles, though leaning heavily in the direction of Whedon’s. Justice League has been a box office disappointment to the point that the future of DC’s film slate has been openly questioned, and fans have started petitions to see Snyder’s version of the film.


That’s probably never going to happen for practical reasons. Writer Mario F. Robles has tweeted that he has sources who indicate to him too much of Snyder’s version of the film, such as the Junkie XL score and VFX, was never completed, and that Warner Bros. is not going to pay to complete it.


https://twitter.com/I_Am_MFR/status/934498275637563392


This is certainly discouraging news for Snyder’s ardent fans, but it shouldn’t really be a surprise. Even before his personal tragedy, it seemed likely Snyder’s days working on DC films were probably numbered after the polarizing Batman V Superman, and if Justice League wasn’t slated to begin production so quickly after that film, it’s easy to imagine Warner Bros. pursuing a different director – perhaps Whedon himself – to recalibrate the films with the more earnest tone that made Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman one of the biggest hits of 2017. The notion of Warner Bros. spending any sort of money to complete Snyder’s vision seems divorced from reality.


At present, Warner Bros. is left to ponder what to do in the wake of Justice League’s relative failure. Aquaman will be out next year, and Shazam and Wonder Woman 2 seem like sure things, but beyond that there are several directions the franchise could end up going. One direction they’re definitely not going is back to Snyder, for better or worse.