Highlights
- Zack Snyder plans to release a director's cut of Sucker Punch, including the original ending that was deemed "too weird" by the studio.
- Snyder explains that the original ending involved Babydoll, the main character, singing a song on stage after being lobotomized, creating an eerie sense of both optimism and despair.
- Sucker Punch faced criticism for being misleading and exploitative of its female characters, but Snyder defends his creative choices and hopes to change some minds with his director's cut.
It's been 12 years since the release of Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, and Snyder is getting real about how he felt about the comments about his female-driven action movie. He also hopes to release a director's cut to include the alternate ending scene many thought was "too weird."
The Justice League director got his big break with his 2004 remake, Dawn of the Dead, and even got to direct his series of DC Universe films. Snyder is known to release extended director's cuts of his most popular films, giving fans more content and insights into his creative process. Snyder even took on his first female-centered action film in 2011, Sucker Punch. While the film has a cult following, some have felt it is a little controversial, leaving Snyder feeling misunderstood. However, Snyder wants to set the record straight one day with hopes of releasing his own director's cut of the film.
Synder's Sucker Punch is a gritty action film centered around Emily Browning's character Babydoll, a teenage girl who lives a tragic life surrounded by death. Babydoll is thrown in an institution by her abusive stepfather after she accidentally shoots and kills her younger sister while trying to aim for her stepfather. To cope with this new change in her life, she creates an alternate universe that includes the other girls who are also institutionalized. With the help of her new friends, they all create a plan to escape. However, things don't go as planned, and Babydoll sacrifices herself to save one friend and, in the end, is lobotomized. There was more to the original ending, and Snyder hopes the audience will see it one day. "I've never gotten around to doing the director's cut. I still plan to at some point," he told IFC via Letterboxd.
Snyder then elaborated on the original Sucker Punch ending and why it was changed. "But in the original ending when Babydoll is in the chair in the basement with Blue - she's already been lobotomized - when the cop shines the light on her, the set breaks apart and she stands up and she sings a song on stage... She sings, 'Ooh, Child, things are gonna get easier,'" The Batman v Superman director reveals. "Blondie, and all the people that have been killed, join in and it's the idea that in a weird way, even though she's lobotomized, she's kind of stuck in this infinite loop of euphoric victory. It's weirdly not optimistic and optimistic at the same time. That's kind of what the tone was at the end. We tested it and the studio thought it was too weird, so we changed it."
Snyder also discussed how Sucker Punch was criticized for being misleading and exploiting its female characters. He called those comments disheartening and even revealed that they cut scenes to ensure they stayed true to the genre. Even online reviews of the film are mixed, creating a divide among fans of the popular director. Those who have watched Sucker Punch either love it or hate it. However, Snyder hopes to change some minds in the near future with his own director's cut.
Sucker Punch will screen at New York's IF Center on Friday, August 4 - Saturday, August 5, 2023, for the 12th anniversary.
Source: Letterboxd