Justice League's original script was rewritten before production, and got fresh changes in 2021, meaning there were 4 versions of the film.

Zack Snyder's Justice League officially debuted in March 2021 and with that came a plethora of new information about this version of the film, the theatrical cut directed by Joss Whedon, and the original script that Snyder and Chris Terrio worked on that was totally rewritten. Over the years, the director revealed behind the scenes details about the production of Justice League, all of which suggest there were different versions of the film up to, and now including, the Snyder Cut that was recently released. Storyboard details also revealed the plans for Justice League sequels that showcased exactly where the Knightmare storyline would have gone had WB not pulled the plug.

In 2019, Snyder held a charity event to screen his director's cuts of Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to help raise money to replace the aging theater at his alma mater, ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. During the event, Snyder revealed some of the biggest bombshells about what actually happened to his original Justice League plans, including some major script changes that occurred before the movie even started production because of the reception from Batman v Superman.

 

The confirmation that Zack Snyder and Chris Terrio's original script was rewritten means there were three distinct versions of Justice League that ultimately saw the light of day — the filmed version of the movie that was ultimately changed by Whedon's rewritten theatrical release, and the updated iteration of the film that premiered on HBO Max in 2021 after years of fans clamoring to see Snyder's vision.

Zack Snyder & Chris Terrio's Original & Rewritten Justice League Script

Snyder said he worked with Chris Terrio to complete the Justice League script prior to the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the film's divisive reception forced them to reconsider their approach. Snyder referred to this script as "the really scary version," and said he got nervous after Batman v Superman, with Warner Bros. also telling that him many elements from the original script had to be changed. Snyder said that "the original Justice League script, we didn't even shoot."

That wasn't entirely new information. Zack and Deborah Snyder both confirmed during the Justice League set visit that the reception to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had impacted Justice League's development. Producer Jon Berg also said that while things were always intended to get lighter after Batman v Superman, "We accelerated the story to get to the hope and optimism a little faster."

There's very little known about how this script differed from the version of the movie Snyder shot other than the fact that it featured a controversial romance between Lois Lane and Bruce Wayne. This version featured the scarier version of Steppenwolf (ultimately seen in the final released version) and had some other elements Snyder said were deemed "too scary," such as a parademon nest. Snyder said his plan was for everything to revolve around the Knightmare sequence first glimpsed in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. It's something that survived the rewrites and would have been more heavily featured in future films, something he was certainly gearing towards for a potential (and unmade) Justice League 2 and Justice League 3. These sequels would have centered on changing the past because the Knightmare future would have been made into a reality.

Then there's the rewritten version of the original script, which is what fans referred to when people discussed wanting to see the Snyder Cut. The director storyboarded and shot 100% of this version of the movie and was well into post-production before leaving. The Knightmare timeline focus was still present and Darkseid played a major role in the background, with his lieutenant Steppenwolf serving as the chief antagonist. This version contained more backstory for the new characters: Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman, and included more of their supporting characters like Iris West, Victor Stone's mom, Vulko, and more. Much of these elements remain in the completed version released to HBO Max, though there are enough changes in the later version of Justice League to warrant it being a separate enough entity.

The Joss Whedon Reshoot Script

This is the version that was released in theaters. It's based around Snyder and Terrio's rewritten script, but had significant alterations by a team of writers including Geoff Johns, Joss Whedon, Allan Heinberg, Seth Grahame-Smith, and Andrea Berloff. Ultimately, Joss Whedon's alterations made the biggest impact and earned him the director role for reshoots after Snyder left the production. He's credited as a writer on the movie, which, per WGA standards, means he was deemed to have had a 33% influence (not necessarily page or word count) on the final product.

Related: Justice League: Every Confirmed Change to Zack Snyder's Version

Whedon's version of the movie removed almost all backstory for Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman; reshot Superman's role and circumstances of his resurrection almost in its entirety; removed almost all references to Darkseid; sidelined Cyborg; removed all references to the Knightmare sequence; and added numerous quips and jokes throughout to try and lighten the mood just to name a few of the numerous changes. The film was largely maligned when it was released and it sent the DCEU in another direction entirely afterward, with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Shazam! also working to recapture the hopeful optimism Warner Bros. initially wanted from Justice League in the wake of Batman v Superman. It wouldn't be until years later that the campaign to Release the Snyder Cut would finally come to fruition, with WB agreeing to release Snyder's vision (and give him money to complete not only post-production, but to film new scenes).

Zack Snyder's 214-Minute Director's Cut of Justice League

Zack Snyder's director's cut of Justice League is what most people were referencing when they said the "Snyder Cut" up until 2020. This version of the movie was never totally completed and had green screen and pre-vis in place of finished visuals in many scenes, although a significant portion of VFX was completed. Junkie XL actually completed a different version of the score for this edit of the film, although the version Snyder had on his hard drive was actually still using temp tracks from his previous DC films and a few other movies.

This version is generally the same as the version of the movie ultimately released, but Steppenwolf's design is the same as the version seen in Whedon's cut of the movie (as Snyder was forced to make that change before Whedon was brought on), Darkseid's presence was smaller, and there was less Knightmare, particularly the epilogue scene, which was shot in 2020 for Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Zack Snyder's Justice League

In May 2020, it was announced that the Snyder Cut — formally called Zack Snyder's Justice League — would finally be released. Initially, Snyder was asked to release his director's cut of the film, the one that was done filming, but had not completed post-production, as-is, but the director refused. This version of the film is basically what the planned theatrical release would have been had Snyder not left and Whedon not taken over, but there are marked differences as Snyder added and filmed new scenes, including an extended sequence featuring the Knightmare future in an epilogue that saw Jared Leto reprise his role as the Joker from David Ayer's Suicide Squad. It also brought back Amber Heard's Mera and Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke for the scene as they comprised Batman's team in the future alongside Cyborg and The Flash.

Beyond that, 2021's Justice League clocked in at a little over four hours and included a new score, as well as all of Snyder's originally filmed footage, now completed in post-production. Scenes that were originally deleted from Snyder's previous cut were added back in so that fans could get the full scope of what the director had in mind and how this version of Justice League set up what was to come in the now-canceled sequels. All of the Cyborg scenes were restored, with the Knightmare sequence once again teasing at a bleak future. In addition to all that, a shot of Batman standing atop his Bat-Tank was something Snyder included in the film at the last minute. While WB isn't interested in carrying on with Snyder's vision of the DCEU (and it contradicts other films in the universe now), his final iteration of Justice League finally getting a chance to be seen in its entirety is at least a win.

Next: How Zack Snyder's DC Films Compare to Other DCEU Movies on Rotten Tomatoes