As audiences around the world tuned to watch the premiere ofZack Snyder’sJustice League, they were greeted by an unusual message: “This film is presented in a 4:3 format to preserve the integrity of Zack Snyder’s creative vision.” While watching a film with black bars on either side of the screen may seem unusual to modern audiences more accustomed to flat-screen TVs, this decision was actually made for a pretty sensible reason: the movie was originally shot with the intention of being displayed on IMAX screens.
While the pandemic means it’s not exactly easy toget people into IMAX capable theaters,Zack Snyder’s Justice Leaguewas shot in an aspect ratio that makes it uniquely suited to the technology. If the film were to be adjusted to fit onto a wider aspect ratio like most TV’s and theaters use, they would have needed to cut off parts of the picture in order to do so. Since Zack Snyder’s artistic vision, and indeed the entire thesis of the ‘Snyder Cut’ project, was to create exactly what he wanted with no limits, he made the decision to preserve all of the footage by displaying it in the slightly more square 4:3 presentation.
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That may be disappointing for some fans who had hoped to make full use of their TVs to watch the film, but there is some good news: Snyder still wants to host more IMAXscreenings ofJustice League, where his film can be shown as it was truly intended. During an interview with CinemaBlend, the director talked about his plans to show the film off after its initial launch, including both the color and the black and white versions: “So as we go forward, I’m going to do a handful of charity screenings – a couple in color, a couple in black and white.”
Not only that, but Snyder admitted he is hoping to get a big gathering together as soon as possible for a real celebration of his time withthe DC Extended Universe. The hope is to invite everyone who helped make the Snyder Cut possible, along with the cast of the films, to get a huge charity event going, where screenings of all his DC movies will be shown: “The idea there would be to do an IMAX weekend where we would doMan of Steel,BvSandJustice Leagueas sort of a three-day event.”
Snyder’sMan of Steelwas the film that launched the DC Extended Universe in 2013 and was followed byBatman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justicein 2016. The divisive response to the latter is said to be just one of the factors that contributed to Warner Bros.' decision to meddle with Snyder’s vision forJustice League.
Snyder’s plans for IMAX screenings ofJustice Leaguewould certainly be an impressive get-together, and also a nice end-cap to Snyder’s timeleading the charge on the DC Extended Universe. Regardless of the road that brought the director here, it’s nice that he can send off the project on his own terms.
