The Epic Queen Hippolyta Scene That Was Cut From Justice League
If you weren't already a member of the Twitter mob hammering Warner Bros. to release the Snyder Cut of Justice League, then maybe this tidbit will push you over the edge: Connie Nielsen's favorite Queen Hippolyta scene was cut from the theatrical version of the film.
In a recent interview with ComingSoon.net, Nielsen gave up the goods about her experience filming Justice League and yet another missing piece that should theoretically be retained in original director Zack Snyder's much-mythologized cut of the film.
Nielsen made her debut in the DC Extended Universe portraying Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons in 2017's Wonder Woman. She reprised that performance in Justice League later that year, and is already confirmed to appear via flashback sequences in the forthcoming (but delayed) Wonder Woman 1984. Justice League bowed to middling responses from critics and fans alike, and many blamed the mid-production swap of Avengers director Joss Whedon for original director Zack Snyder as the reason for its failure. Not long after the hand-wringing had begun, rumors started to leak that Snyder wasn't at all happy with the final cut of the film released by Warner Bros.
Snyder has since confirmed that an alternate cut of the movie exists in the form that he originally intended. This so-dubbed Snyder Cut contains, among other things, an exhilarating stunt performed by Nielsen's Hippolyta that audiences never had the chance to appreciate.
Nielsen regrets that audiences missed her stunt, but she's excited for a third turn as Hippolyta
Of the missing scene, Nielsen said, "My absolute favorite stunt was cut from the film, and I'm having a hard time accepting that, it was so cool. I got to run up a wall and pivot in the air, and as I pivoted on my way down I speared one of the monsters. I literally did that for weeks to get that, and then they didn't put it in. They took it out, they put it in, they took it out... It's my great regret because I love stunts, I love being a badass in a film like that, and then sorry that the audience didn't get to see that part of the cool Amazon fighting techniques, because they were very cool!"
And for the record, Snyder directed this missing stunt — not Whedon. Nielsen confirmed that all of the scenes she shot for Justice League were under the purview of Snyder before he left the film in post-production following the death of his daughter.
Sounds like fans aren't the only ones disappointed by Warner Bros.' intransigence vis-a-vis the Snyder Cut. Who seriously wouldn't want to see Nielsen as a badass Amazon queen diving through the air to impale a monster with her spear?
Despite the studio's questionable creative choices with Justice League, Nielsen told ComingSoon.net that she's excited about her role in Wonder Woman 1984. "It was a little bit like a homecoming. We got to see everybody, hang out. It was very cute. All the girls got to get together and it was very cool," she shared. Here's hoping none of Nielsen's scenes ends up on the cutting room floor this time.
Wonder Woman 1984 is currently slated for release on August 14.