Zack Snyder Isn't Getting Paid For Snyder Cut, Reshoots Cost $70 Million

Ahead of the release of the "Snyder Cut" of Justice League, Zack Snyder has shared some new insights into his work on the re-cut version of the film. Among other details, he shared that he isn't being paid to create this version of the movie, nor has he ever seen the original theatrical version of Justice League.

This was shared as part of a new Vanity Fair profile, which is bursting with new insights that will likely be revelatory for hardcore and fair-weather fans alike--including the fact that the persistent rumors that Snyder himself asked Joss Whedon for help finishing the film were false. Instead, says Snyder, at the time he tried to make the best of a bad situation and remained optimistic that "maybe he could write cool scenes. I thought that would be fun." And as it turns out, Snyder--at his wife Deborah's (who produced the film) insistence--he has never seen the version Whedon made.

But even before the death of his daughter Autumn, Snyder and the project were facing mounting headaches, ulcers, and conflicting marching orders from Warner Bros. Chief among them, says Snyder, was an expectation to make the film shorter.

"How am I supposed to introduce six characters and an alien with potential for world domination in two hours? Clearly it was done," says Snyder. "But I didn't see it."

According to Vanity Fair, part of what helped Snyder get the leverage he needed to execute his vision was to forgo a salary: "I'm not getting paid… I didn't want to be beholden to anyone, and it allowed me to keep my negotiation powers." Not that filming his four-hour version of the film was a spartan undertaking--the reshoots cost a reported $70 million "to undo Whedon's redo." It's unclear if that budget also includes the re-scoring.

The piece is well worth a read, and also has even further new looks at Jared Leto's Joker beyond what was released earlier this month, including the shot above.

Justice League: The Director's Cut will hit the HBO Max on March 18.