When Joss Whedon stepped in to replace Zack Snyder on Justice League and ended up reshooting almost the entire movie so that it better fit both his and the studio’s vision, the budget soared to a reported $300 million, making it one of the most expensive projects ever mounted. And when you factor in marketing costs that were said to be as high as $150 million, then you start to understand why an all-star superhero blockbuster that made over $650 million at the box office has so far failed to turn a single penny of profit for Warner Bros.
Despite already sinking close to half a billion dollars into Justice League without seeing a return on their investment, the studio nonetheless gave the green light to the Snyder Cut after two and a half years of relentless fan campaigning, with the filmmaker handed complete creative control to deliver the version of the movie that he always had in his head.
When the all-new take on the DCEU’s epic was first announced, rumors pegged the budget as being around the $30 million mark, which isn’t cheap but seemed realistic given that all of the changes were being made in post-production. However, the news broke yesterday that Snyder is reassembling much of the principal cast next month for additional footage, and due to this, reports indicate that the cost of his redo has now more than doubled to $70 million.
Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot and Ray Fisher are all confirmed to be suiting up for the reshoots, although there’s no word yet on either Jason Momoa or Ezra Miller’s potential involvement. The first three in particular won’t come cheap, though, and Warner Bros. will no doubt be hoping the extra cash is worth it in the end when Zack Snyder’s Justice League arrives on HBO Max next year.