To Warner Bros.

We the undersigned, call on Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. to distribute a director's cut of the recent DC Films production Justice League. We ask this with the utmost respect, and in no way seek to harm the profitability of the Justice League, or the reputations of those who worked hard to provide DC fans with a movie that many have been waiting decades for. Please don’t see this as a type of film review, we are not film critics nor have any interest in influencing creative direction, we are DC Films fans and look forward to and appreciate all films from the DC universe. It was simply to our dismay, not the film we were expecting.

We accept that a lot of the changes to Justice League stem from the critical response to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but that film helped generate a strong and committed fan following. We as members of this fandom have supported WB, DC Films, Zack Snyder, and the cast and crew involved in providing us a movie we love. We have supported the movies distributed in the theatres with multiple viewings and defended DC Films in the public domain when others would seek to damage, insult or condescend.

We realise that certain decisions often have to be made for financial reasons, which can in some instances impact the creative process. We pursue the distribution of a director's cut with this in mind. It should be clarified at this point that we are not pursuing an Ultimate cut, or Extended edition, but a director's cut. The problems that we the signatories have with the theatrical version of Justice League are not ones to do with movie length or content, but to do with story. The problems we have identified can be categorised into two groups:

1. Writing

We understand the story of Superman, and understand that eventually we were going to get a more hopeful hero to send us into the future of the DC universe. We however also recognise that this can be done in a manner that accords with and respects what has come before it. We believe that in specific scenes this was not achieved in the theatrical release of Justice League. The inclusion of dialogue such as that in a scene between Martha Kent and Lois Lane where the former calls the latter "thirsty" are quite frankly offensive. The scene where Barry Allen falls in the breasts of Wonder Woman (a rehash from another superhero franchise) was in the least distasteful, and certainly an insult to the character of Wonder Woman. That in 2017, such attempts at "comedy" are seen as acceptable or funny is an indictment on where we are as a society. We believe WB can and should be better than that.

As mentioned we are fans of DC Films, not just in name, but also with our money. We have bought theatre tickets for Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman, each on multiple occasions; copies on home video; and merchandise. We are invested in this universe, and we expect that there is an element of continuity. We believe a number of elements from BvS were not paid off in the theatrical cut. We were sold a conclusion to this story in the trailers and these elements were not in the film at all.We believe this would not have been the case had Zack Snyder's vision been allowed to come to fruition.

2. Score

Following the departure of Zack Snyder as a result of personal tragedy, WB released a statement and continued a narrative that the movie though completed by Joss Whedon, would be continued as Zack Snyder intended. This does not reconcile with the fact that soon after Tom Holkenborg (also known as Junkie XL) was removed from the project. Tom Holkenborg, who also worked on Man of Steel (uncredited) and Batman v Superman with Hans Zimmer, had already done a lot of work for the Justice League score before being replaced by Danny Elfman. As with all forms of art, music is subjective, however it is our opinion that having worked on the franchise previously, Tom Holkenborg would have provided a cinematic score more in line with what we, the supporters of this franchise are familiar with and love. It is public knowledge that Junkie XL planned to create themes for every member of the Justice League whilst bringing back the iconic works of Hans Zimmer used in previous DC films. It was an expectation therefore that pre-existing themes, such as those of Superman and Wonder Woman would be used extensively in Justice League, rather than the seemingly apologetic way in which they were. Danny Elfman is an experienced and talented composer, and his work on the original Batman movie from 1989 will always have a place in the hearts of DC and Batman fans. It is however our opinion that the cinematic score for Justice League did not evoke the emotion in a way that would have done justice to this movie. Having a great cinematic score for any movie is as important as having great characters and a great story, and though there were pleasing elements to the score of Justice League, we believe that they are not in line with the vision of Zack Snyder. Finally, it should be stated that a score from Junkie XL is one that many would consider purchasing if released.

Recommendation

Having explained our grievances, we want to put the positive case forward for allowing Zack Snyder to make/complete a director's cut, both for the fans and WB. We understand that making movies is not cheap, however we also understand (based on reports, leaked footage from visual effects studios, and footage from previous trailers) that there is enough recorded and edited material at the disposal of Warner Bros. to allow some form of a director's cut to be released. Based on the number of signatories to this petition you now know that there is demand for a director's cut on home video, which could be profitable considering the unused scenes and score have already been paid for.

We also acknowledge the question that releasing another version of a movie that is set in a cinematic universe with continuity may cause confusion. However, we believe that WB and DC have already in place perfect ways to avoid such confusion: either releasing the film under the soon to be unveiled Elseworlds banner of standalone DC Films; or using the DC comics concept of the multiverse (i.e. simply stating that the events of the director's cut take place in an alternate world or timeline).

We hope you will take our request for a director's cut of Justice League from Zack Snyder with a cinematic score from Tom Holkenborg to heart. We love DC Films and have thus far been fans and supporters of the franchise. We respect WB and understand that a change in direction may be what is needed for the long term success of DC Films, but we also hope that you will allow us to get closure to a story arc we love so much, before we can continue to support the films released in the future with these wonderful characters from the DC universe.