Zack Snyder says 'Justice League' will be R-rated

Warner Bros had recently announced that the original version of the movie will debut on HBO Max in 2021

Filmmaker Zack Snyder has teased that his version of 2018 superhero movie "Justice League" might be R-rated due to excessive "profanity and violence".

Warner Bros had recently announced that the original version of the movie, dubbed Snyder-cut by the DC Comics fans and filmed by the filmmaker prior to his departure, will debut on HBO Max in 2021.

Talking to Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker said that the new movie will have a runtime of four hours and might also release theatrically, in addition to premiering on HBO Max.

"Here's one piece of information nobody knows: The movie is insane and so epic and is probably rated R — that's one thing I think will happen, that it will be an R-rated version, for sure. We haven't heard from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), but that's my gut," Snyder said.

The filmmaker also teased a scene where Ben Affleck's Batman will be using an expletive.

"There's one scene where Batman drops an F-bomb. Cyborg is not too happy with what's going on with his life before he meets the Justice League, and he tends to speak his mind.

"And Steppenwolf is pretty much just hacking people in half. So (the rating would be due to) violence and profanity, probably both," Snyder added.

"Justice League" will feature Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash and Ray Fisher as Cyborg.

During his conversation with EW, Snyder also shared his thoughts on WarnerMedia's decision to release Warner Bros 'entire 2021 slate of films both on HBO and in theatres.

"I'm a huge fan and a big supporter of the cinematic experience, and we're already talking about Justice League playing theatrically at the same time it's coming to HBO Max. So weirdly, it's the reverse (of the trend)," he said.

Among the 17 films that are set to be available both theatrically and on the streamer are big-budget tentpoles such as Denis Villeneuve's "Dune", "The Suicide Squad", monster movie "Godzilla vs Kong", and Keanu Reeves-starrer "The Matrix 4".

The studio's decision had invited sharp reaction from filmmakers Christopher Nolan and Villeneuve, who said that the move goes against tradition of providing the big screen experience to the audiences.

Snyder hoped that the studio's decision was just a "knee-jerk" reaction to coronavirus pandemic and not "some sort of greater move to disrupt the theatrical experience".

"I thought we were kind of already getting very close to the ideal theatrical window where you still had marketing material out there and you hadn't forgotten about the film by the time it came out on DVD or streaming.

"I thought we were starting to hone in on that sweet spot, but this kind of throws a monkey wrench in the works," the filmmaker added.