The Long Road to Zack Snyder’s Justice League

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As the first decade of the 21st century neared its end, Warner Bros. had a problem on their hands: Marvel was crushing their DC Comics-based films when it came to both critical and box office success. As the parent company of DC, WB had the blockbuster Dark Knight franchise from Christopher Nolan, but little to boast about apart from Batman, as the likes of Superman Returns, Jonah Hex, and Green Lantern all underperformed or outright bombed. Meanwhile, Marvel Studios — soon to be owned by Disney — launched with beloved hit Iron Man in 2008 and then, after a minor stumble with The Incredible Hulk, followed up with hit after hit with Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers, seeing their box office begin to explode in the process. Eventually, Warners looked to Zack Snyder — who had previously directed the comic book adaptations 300 and Watchmen for the studio — to bring DC’s number one super team to life. Of course, there were a number of hurdles before getting to that point and then a highly unusual road leading up this week’s release of a four-hour version of that movie on HBO Max. Let’s take a look back at the road to Zack Snyder’s Justice League.