Zack Snyder announces HBO Max release date for his cut of 'Justice League'

Watch: Trailer for the Snyder Cut of Justice League

Zack Snyder has revealed that his preferred cut of superhero team-up movie Justice League will be released via HBO Max on 18 March.

Snyder posted new artwork for the film, advertising the release date, while the streaming service itself chipped in with a series of posters.

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The release is the culmination of a long-running fan campaign, which has called for the release of the Snyder Cut ever since the original version of the movie — completed by Joss Whedon — was unveiled to lukewarm box office and poor reviews in 2017.

The cut is due to be around four hours long and, despite earlier reports, will be released as what the director has called “a giant amount of movie” rather than a multi-part miniseries.

Snyder stepped away from Justice League in May 2017 — six months before the release date — in the wake of the death of his daughter.

Whedon shepherded two months of reshoots and completed post-production on the movie, which brought together the DC Universe’s heroes in a battle against the villain Steppenwolf.

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The expensive movie only managed a disappointing $657m (£479m) at the worldwide box office, with reports suggesting it needed to hit $750m (£546m) in order to break even.

Critics were also underwhelmed and the movie currently has an approval score of just 40% on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

The critical consensus reads: “Justice League leaps over a number of DC movies, but its single bound isn't enough to shed the murky aesthetic, thin characters, and chaotic action that continue to dog the franchise.“

It took fans several years to convince Warner Bros to allow Snyder to complete his own vision of the movie, though the studio has now stumped up $70m (£51m) to get the project done.

The 54-year-old filmmaker has confirmed that the film will be R-rated and said he feels a lot of pressure to get this version of Justice League right.

Read more: Snyder could follow up Justice League with a comic book

He added that he has been presented with the opportunity to create “a very pure and exact version” of the movie he always wanted to make.

Yahoo Movies UK has reached out to Warner Bros for information on the British release of the film.

Watch: Zack Snyder has no plans to make more DC movies