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Last Thursday, Vero hosted a Man Of Steel watch party with the director Zack Snyder, during which he talked viewers through the iconic DC film via live stream. After the credits rolled, Snyder and his wife and production partner, Deborah, invited Henry Cavill (along with his very impressive quarantine moustache) into the stream for a Q&A with fans, covering everything from microscopic plot details to the Superman suit. So far, so normal, until right at the very end of the stream, where, in answer to the final question, he casually revealed that the mythical “Snyder Cut” – his version of Justice League – would be coming to HBO Max in 2021.
It’s impossible to overestimate how much of a huge deal this is in the world of pop culture. After two-and-a-half years of campaigning, Snyder fans have made Hollywood history by persuading a studio (in this case, Warner Bros) not only to release, well, anything, but to revisit an alternative, not-yet-fully-existing version of a project from several years ago. Why? To recap: Snyder had to pull out of Justice League during production due to a family tragedy, which saw Joss Whedon come on board to complete it in his absence. Whedon’s final product – which Snyder says is an entirely different film than the one he had been working on – was both a critical flop and a disappointment to many fans, who bemoaned the total loss of Snyder’s artistic vision. Almost immediately after the film arrived in theatres, Snyder’s supporters began to organise on Vero with one demand: #ReleaseTheSnyderCut (RTSC).
Vero has been a digital HQ for Snyder fans since 2017, when the director first teamed up the social platform on his personal project Snow Steam Iron, a film shot entirely on iPhone (follow him @ZackSnyder). The film community has been using Vero for some time, drawn to aspects from its no-ads, no-algorithms model to the rule that all users own all of their own content. What followed was a constant level of interaction between him and his fans that would be hard to achieve on any other platform, with Snyder making himself accessible to answer questions while sharing behind-the-scenes shots, exclusive imagery and Easter eggs from the DC universe. He also brought his core collaborators on board, with the likes of Ray Fisher, DoP Larry Fong, Mark Twight, producer Wesley Coller, photographer Clay Enos and, of course, Deborah Snyder, all joining Vero. Snyder’s small community grew into a movement thousands strong, with the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut setting up shop in the app, rallying the troops while keeping a keen eye on the director’s posts for clues that would prove its existence.
The RTSC movement’s efforts to bring Snyder’s Justice League to light were unprecedented. The move is proof of the power in digital community building: they have advocated online, sure, but they’ve also taken action in the real world. They did everything from buy billboards in Times Square, New York, to flying planes towing banners over Warner Bros, with activations at Comic-Con and other fan events. Stars of Justice League including Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa and Ben Affleck added their voices to the cause. There was a petition and lobbying, yes, but RTSC was about more than just giving Snyder the chance to finish a beloved project: they raised $150,000 for the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention in his honour. Impressed by their shared passion and desire to drive positive change with their philanthropic efforts, Vero established a relationship with the core fan group co-ordinating the movement and supported its community-building activities, including, most recently, a Justice League poster competition judged by Snyder.
Throughout, Vero has continued to nurture its partnership with the director himself, from cohosting a mini film festival last year based on three of his most beloved films, to the most recent Live Watch Party screenings of Batman v Superman and Man Of Steel. On Snyder’s Vero channel, you’ll find a ton of exclusive content, from on-set photography (he gave his followers their first look at Jason Momoa as Aquaman) to “Snyder Cut” teasers. There’ll be much to document in the coming months, as there’s still a huge amount of work to be done before it premieres next year. While he has assembled his original team and hinted at using the original footage (according to one of his Vero posts, it is 214 minutes long), Snyder has said that the new project will be “an entirely new thing”. HBO Max is allegedly spending $30 million on the project, which will premiere either as a long director’s cut or in TV-style episodes. As Warner Media’s Robert Greenblatt said in a statement, “Well, the fans have asked and we are thrilled to finally deliver. At the end of the day, it really is all about them and we are beyond excited to be able to release Zack’s ultimate vision for this film in 2021.”
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