Zack Snyder Touts #SnyderCut Digital Release While Report Claims Bots Fueled Fan Campaign
Zack Snyder mobilized the #SnyderCut fandom with a single tweet that reads: “#SnyderCutOnDigital.” Tuesday, July 19 marked the film’s official digital release date. Snyder’s tweet about the film’s digital debut was accompanied by a black-and-white image of film reels, the same image he posted to social media years ago to signify to fans that the #SnyderCut was real.
Snyder’s tweet and the digital release of the #SnyderCut comes less than a day after of an exclusive report from Rolling Stone claimed that bots were used on social media to fuel the #SnyderCut army. Rolling Stone obtained two reports commissioned by Warner Media that revealed “at least 13 percent of the accounts that took part in the conversation about the Snyder Cut were deemed fake, well above the three to five percent that cyber experts say they typically see on any trending topic.”
More from Variety
'RWBY' to Crossover With Justice League in Upcoming Feature Film From Rooster Teeth and Warner Bros.
'Army of the Dead' Star Huma Qureshi Wraps Anti-Body-Shaming Film 'Double XL' (EXCLUSIVE)
The Biggest Oscar Snubs and Surprises: From 'Power of the Dog' to Zack Snyder
Calls for the #SnyderCut erupted after the director left the original production of the film due to a family tragedy and Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to overhaul Snyder’s dark tone and oversee reshoots. Whedon’s “Justice League” bombed with critics and the box office, leading Snyder’s fans to demand that Warner Bros. release the director’s intended version.
The #SnyderCut movement became synonymous with toxic fandom, as some members would bully any executive that stood in the way of getting the film released. One fan-created image alarmed WarnerMedia bosses by showing the decapitated heads of producer Geoff Johns, DC Films president Walter Hamada, and former Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich. The #SnyderCut was eventually released on HBO Max in March 2021.
More than 20 anonymous sources that were involved in the making of both “Justice League” and “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” told Rolling Stone that they “believe [Zack Snyder] was working to manipulate the ongoing campaign. Snyder claims that, ‘if anyone’ was pulling strings on the social media fervor, it was Warner Bros. ‘trying to leverage my fan base to bolster subscribers to their new streaming service.'”
Check out Snyder’s post below.
#SnyderCutOnDigital pic.twitter.com/61K6BqX40S
— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) July 19, 2022
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.