Fans have held out hope for a Snyder Cut of Justice League since the film was released in 2017. The theatrical cut of the movie, which underwent significant reshoots after the departure of Zack Snyder, was much different than the initial director's vision. The version's existence has never been entirely certain, but filmmaker Kevin Smith did recently claim that "a" Snyder Cut does exist. However, rather than prove the original vision for Justice League should be released, Smith's statements on the matter show why it shouldn't.
Snyder Cutting Room Floor
Negative reception to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice resulted in Warner Bros. starting to change the course of the DC Extended Universe, and when Snyder departed Justice League, the film underwent a lot of changes. A major one was that Snyder's plans for a trilogy were cut. Right now, we also know there was an increased emphasis on Cyborg and his family, Wonder Woman would probably have killed Steppenwolf and Darkseid would have appeared in the film, in addition to a lot of other tidbits.
However, most of the movie never made it passed the early stages. Smith remarked that large amounts of the Snyder Cut he's heard of had unfinished special and visual effects, existing mostly through green screen footage. Even with the disclaimers Smith would want to go along with the cut explaining these deleted pieces, the added scenes would be little more than just actors on wires moving in front of green screens. For characters or elements whose entire existence relied on CGI, this would especially problematic. There's a lot that only exists in concept art, and important characters like Darkseid never seem to have made it past that stage.
Endgame Shows Why the Snyder Cut is a Bad Idea
The re-release of Avengers: Endgame in theaters actually proves why releasing this early Snyder Cut would be a bad idea. Despite all the hype around Endgame's re-release, a lot of excited fans didn't rush out to see the already acclaimed and beloved film. Why would they do so for the comparative failure that was Justice League?
The Endgame re-release also showed the danger of giving audiences unfinished footage to watch, which featured a scene of Professor Hulk rescuing civilians. While directors Joe and Anthony Russo stressed beforehand that this footage was unfinished, the reception was particularly negative, especially compared to the rest of the movie. Instead of feeling rewarded with a sneak peek into a well-regarded movie's production, viewers felt the footage was a cheat at best, and lame at worst. How much worse would the green screens and other unfinished elements of Justice League be received, especially when that movie had nowhere near the positive reception of Endgame?
Would Warner Bros. Even Release the Snyder Cut?
Considering Justice League reportedly lost Warner Bros. between $50 and $100 million and wasn't well-received critically, it seems unlikely the studio would continue throwing money after the film. Thus, there would probably be nothing actually added to what already exists, especially when the end product is so niche. However, releasing the film itself might re-open old wounds for Warner Bros., which has since moved past Justice League and found success with Aquaman and Shazam!. This could be especially bad if the theatrical cut is worse.
If the footage instead creates a superior film, or at least a glimpse at one, Warner Bros. will only be validating those who saw the studio's actions with the Snyder-led DCEU as nothing short of creative sabotage. In other words, the studio has several reasons to not release the Snyder Cut, least of all being how unfinished it is.