Synopsis:
A mainly ZSJL restructured edit that lets the story unfold more naturally, that tightens up ZSJL and adds as much of the best parts of JWJL. More of JWJL Diana struggling with leadership.
Intentions:
I took this edit on as it’s my most requested edit due to my other DCEU edits. I did my original DoJ Trilogy edits in hopes of the ZSJL release, and I couldn't be happier that it happened. As absolutely bloated as it was, I saw no need to rush to edit it. And legendary editors Gieferg, Spence, Krausdafr and BionicBob made amazing edits of their own. But as seems likely in this hobby with so many possible choices to make along the way, I never saw an edit quite the way I would cut it, and now it seemed time. As always, I stayed true to my goal of editing movies - first and foremost for myself. I genuinely watch my edits repeatedly. The goal was to try to use this movie to move these characters from the darker ZS origins, to end with the more positive, classic Justice League HEROIC archetypes I am more familiar with and fit better with the following DCEU movies.
Change List:
Intro: Credit intro FX to remove “Time Warner Media Company” for a more timeless feel. New “WB” and “DC” logos used from the ZSJL Trailer, upscaled and heavily slowed with Topaz Scene 1 – Battle at Themyscira base of ZSJL: - JWJL intro shot to Themyscira used over ZSJL for footage of the group riding to the stronghold. - New audio intro created beginning with horses running and then parts of “Ancient Lamentations” - Trimmed shots of Hippolyta entering stronghold to remove smiling strongwoman. - Removed some exposition from the dialogue before Step’s arrival ZSJL footage cut similar to JSJL for Hippolyta’s exit from the stronghold Hippolyta’s slide shortened Only one shot of Hippolyta looking back at the crumbling stronghold used Trimmed a few initial frames of Hippolyta handing of the box to the riders Trimmed first shot of Hippolyta looking out over the cliff Trimmed a bit of Step’s fight with the Amazons for pace and continuities issues, like removing the spear stuck in Step Removed lingering shots of Euboea’s death Scene 2 – Steppenwolf arrives at the Nuclear Plant ZSJL Base: First and second scenes of Step at the Nuclear plant combined, with Step calling out to Desaad then he first puts the box into the nuclear waste. Desaad and Step’s dialogue trimmed slightly Scene 3 – Intro Credits After Stephenwolf says “For Darkseid”, we move to the shot of the paradeamons leaving the nuclear stack and text added for Warner Bros Pictures Presents” and “A Zack Snyder Film”. Typography all pulled from the ZSJL trailer, upscaled, and rebuilt for this edit. We begin to hear an extended intro for the song Everybody Knows from JWJL. The song has been pitch shifted to better match the music from the previous scene. The music lyrics have been chopped up to make lines more relevant to the scene on screen when possible by separating the lyrics from the music. Act One : The Call To Stand Scene 4 – Bruce and Arthur’s Intro ZSJL Base Removed credits from Bruce’s journey over the mountain, and trimmed out shots what didn’t work. Removed Bruce walking into village Trimmed town hall dialogue so instead of Bruce asking Arthur to talk outside, its clear that this interaction IS THE TALK. Mix of JWJL and ZSJL dialogue, removed a few of Arthurs lines while keeping glares to emphasize that Bruce and Arthur are communicating privately within the conversation. Added trimmed JWJL footage of Bruce noticing the wall artwork about the boxes Changed Bruce’s Icelandic line to “I thought you’d have gills.” Heavily edited dialogue of Bruce and Arthur outside to mix JWJL and ZSJL, kept “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong” footage, trimmed women singing to just the start, and lots of color correction to try to make the footage here blend better Scene 5 – Alfred meets up with Bruce ZSJL base Trimmed Alfred harassing Bruce, kept him more supportive here. Dialogue ends with “Naught for two.” Scene 6 – Diana’s Intro ZSJL Base Removed the outside guard of the building, he just waits too long to notice something’s wrong Removed shots of Diana outside. Trimmed Diana’s interrogation of the terrorist, Moved bomb trigger start to after, fx to change bomb start to 20 sec to increase tension Tightened Diana fight with terrorists (and removed first use of slow-mo powers, to try to keep Barry special) Scene 7 – Message from Themyscira ZSJL Base Dialogue tightened for exposition Scene 8 – Diana receives Message ZSJL Base Trimmed Scene similar to JWJL AE removal of bald artist historian’s tool in final shots to lessen visual connection to initial Bald historian Audio transition to next scene uses Diane Theme transition audio from BvS Scene 9 – Silas and Victor Intro ZSJL Base JWJL footage of Silas and the Janitor New Victor flashback sequence inserted between Silas leaving Victor the tape player and when Victor pick it up Frames removed of Victor looking at his hand before seeing the nukes Some shots of Waitress removed to speed all this part up whenever possible. Scene 10 – Bruce and Alfred Jet Discussion JWJL Start with ZSJL End Adjusted discussion by Alfred of Victor and Barry info Kept the line about the wind-up penguins Move to ZSJL with Alfred and Bruce discussion his motivations Scene 11 – Silas at Lab Crime Scene ZSJL Base - Dialogue trimmed heavily Scene 12 – Steppenwolf interrogates the Atlantians ZSJL Base Initial shot of parademons coming out of the water trimmed. Scene 13 – Silas warns Victor about Monsters ZSJL Base Trimmed dialogue: JWJL line added from Silas “You are not a monster!” Scene 14 – Batman and the Burglar JWJL Base Removed burglar faking walking away before pulling a gun Tightened up Batman and Burglar fight Reordered shots of Batman jumping from Water tower Removed Batman’s line “They can smell it” Sped up slowmo shots of Batman and Parademon Removed some of the air battle shots Ending scene after Batman says “A Scout” FX to Burglar looking up to keep him from talking after Scene 15 – Victor Discovers Batman’s Identity JWJL Base.
Additional Notes:
This edit pushed my skills to new levels, as I wasn’t satisfied with the footage we got so I had to sometimes mix two shots together to get the result I needed. Dialogue rebuilt in many instances, and color correction throughout to integrate JWJL footage into the ZSJL, and the ZSJL color was brought up a little bit too to be less gloomy.
Other Sources:
JWJL ZSJL BvS Green Lantern.
Special Thanks:
To @Boredat3am, for always checking in to see if it was time to begin, and for amazing and thoughtful feedback. Your support has been so motivating throughout this edit. To @Dirtycop1036, for the countless previews and feedback, your passion has also been a great motivator To the legend @BionicBob, for thoughtful anaylisis with reference to views of true comic book fans, of which I am not. The feedback coupled with the depth of knowledge and love for these characters was immeasurable. And to the great edits of @Spence, @Krausfadr, @Gieferg, and @BionicBob that came before, which I respect highly and drew inspiration from.