4 Super Hero Movies Ruined in the Editing Room

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

When it was announced that Zack Snyder would be helming “Batman v Superman,” fans were understandably concerned given his track record. They were right to worry, as what should’ve been an epic crossover is a bloated mess, taking a fairly straightforward story and convoluting it. Several iconic characters are shoehorned in just to tease future movies and many scenes feel unnecessary in the long run, most notably the whole “Lois is the key” fiasco. One can’t help but feel that there’s a better movie buried in its slipshod editing - or at least better scenes. The Ultimate Edition did fix a few problems with the theatrical release. Much like its director, though, the extended cut was still more concerned with looking cool than making narrative sense.

Fantastic Four (2015)

When Josh Trank landed the directing gig for Fox’s “Fantastic Four” reboot, he was seen as a wunderkind. After all, he had only one feature under this belt, the found-footage superhero riff “Chronicle,” and now he was helming a major franchise film. However, reports have painted Trank as an enfant terrible who supposedly trashed his rented house with dogs and nearly came to blows with Miles Teller. His alleged poor behavior aside, Fox wasn’t pleased with Trank’s film, ordering significant reshoots. The day before its release, Trank tweeted that he’d made a great film — we’ll just never see it. Whether you blame Trank or the studio for the final product, their feud shines through in this poorly-paced, horrendously-edited train wreck.

Suicide Squad (2016)

While the MCU took its time carefully stacking a deck of heroes and villains, DC spent just a few years trying to catch up and distinguish itself. The DCEU wanted to have a grittier tone than Marvel, but David Ayer’s “Suicide Squad” is an outlier: a film too gritty to be cartoonish and too silly to be serious. That disconnect is, in large part, due to the disappointment of “Batman v Superman,” which came out almost five months earlier. Warner Bros. seemingly lost confidence in Ayer’s vision, especially after the trailer promised something more along the lines of “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Rumors of heavy reshoots and edits damned the film before its release, most contentious being the redacted appearance of the Joker.

Justice League (2017)

The history behind Zack Snyder’s “Justice League” is one plagued with production delays, tragedy, and vain mustaches. The film had weak foundations before cameras rolled, trying to move past the disaster of “Batman v Superman” while still acknowledging it. The studio was hoping “Justice League” would be the soft reboot their universe needed. Due to the tragic suicide of his daughter, however, Snyder left the project amid post-production. The studio quickly hired the almost always reliable Joss Whedon to fill in. The tonal shift between the two directors, however, is noticeably awkward. While diehard fans claim the Snyder Cut would be superior, past evidence suggests otherwise.