When it comes to Zack Snyder and comic book adaptations, you can guarantee that almost every frame is going to be dripping in visual effects. After all, this is the filmmaker who delivered 300, Watchmen, Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, all four of which utilized no shortage of green screen, and even some airbrushed abs in the case of that first one.
As well as a heavily-stylized aesthetic, you can also rely on Snyder’s movies ripped from the printed page to have a pretty lengthy runtime. Admittedly, 300 ran for a thrifty 116 minutes, though it would’ve been half as long if it wasn’t for the slow motion, while the Ultimate Cut of Watchmen and the Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition give him the honor of helming the two longest superhero movies ever made.
The 54 year-old is going three for three with his brand new cut of Justice League, which is set to run for four hours and could end up being released theatrically as one incredibly lengthy film, as well as arriving on HBO Max as a quartet of hour-long episodes. Unsurprisingly, then, there are a lot of visual effects required to bring his vision to life, and the Snyder Cut will apparently have more VFX shots than even Avengers: Endgame, according to the director.
“It’s a visual effects extravaganza,” he said. “And, you know, my hats off and kudos to my entire visual effects team, they do an amazing job, worked so hard with them every day on this movie. And it’s a labor of love for all of us.”
Of course, fans won’t mind the abundance of CGI as long as they don’t have to deal with the horrendous red filter over the final action scene that turned the third act of the theatrical edition into a complete eyesore, and hopefully all the extra time and effort being put in by Snyder and his crew is worth it in the end when Justice League hits HBO Max in March.