I appreciate it, I really do. This movie would not exist if HBO Max were not; I am eternally grateful to them. And the viewing experience is still of an extremely high quality. It really depends on your TV. It’s in the same aspect ratio as ‘First Cow’. I think these two films share common DNA. [Laughs.] I really liked “First Cow”. I would love that in a double feature, ‘First Cow’ and the Snyder track from ‘Justice League’.
Do you see the DC heroes on a large scale, like characters from Wagner or ‘Lord of the Rings’?
Obviously, I take these characters and their mythology really seriously. I want them to be fully realized as characters that exist in that world. I do not think it is nice to have fun at their expense. And there was a vision we had, a complete universe, fully worked out, that we really wanted to take.
Was it to draw a deliberate contrast to what Marvel does in its movies?
I knew it before “BvS” when we made ‘Man of Steel’. Marvel is doing something different. They do this popular action comedy with a heart at the highest level. And they nailed it. An attempt to duplicate that insanity because they are so good at it. What DC had was mythology on an epic level, and we would take them on this amazing journey. Honestly, I was the only one who said that.
The release of your “Justice League” brings back some painful memories, but you also do not enjoy a little?
Only in the sense that it’s three years later, and here I’re releasing a four – hour version of the film. It really shows that the consumer is not wrong in many ways. “They can handle nothing longer than two hours, but they will lose their minds.” They are underestimated, the audience themselves.
How long did you want the “Justice League” play to be?
My view is that the film should be about 20 minutes longer each time. ‘BvS’ should be 20 minutes longer than ‘Man of Steel’ and ‘Justice League’ should be about 20 minutes longer than ‘BvS.’ I thought the movie should be a little closer to three hours when I first tackled it. I know it’s indulgent. The truth is that there are probably about 10 Snyder tracks – there is a longer version than the four-hour version. There is a three-hour version. A two-hour and 20. I think I showed the studio two hours and 40 minutes. And then I showed them subsequent tracks of two hours and 30 minutes, and two hours and 28 minutes, and two hours and 22 minutes.