Zack Snyder's Justice League occupies square portion of TV screens; Here's why

Zack Snyder’s Justice League which is famously hailed as the ‘Snyder Cut’ has now officially had an at-home release with HBO Max. All DC fans are now able to watch the film on their TV screens, however, many have noticed that the film occupies a square in the middle of the monitor’s display. This made many wonder if they are watching a TV show from 20 years ago.

Now, The Wrap has discovered that there’s nothing wrong with people’s TV or display device. What fans are seeing is the new version’s intended aspect ratio of the film. According to the portal, ace director Zack purposely wanted fans to watch this new cut of Justice League. During the olden days, the tube televisions aspect ratio was reportedly 1.33:1, or 4:3. This means that the width of the TV screens was 33% longer than its height.

However, in present times, the aspect ratio of HD and 4K TV’s is 1.78:1. The content developed for television screens is framed between these values to perfectly fit the display of one’s screen. The theatrical cut of Zack Snyder’s Justice League also uses the same ratio. However, the TV version of Zack Snyder’s Justice League comes in at 1.37:1, which is approximately very close to the old television standard. Hence, viewers have noticed that the film occupied a square in the middle of their screens.

According to The Wrap, the reason behind this is IMAX. While most IMAX screens are generally wider, the ‘true’ IMAX yet has an aspect ratio between 1.34 and 1.4. Hence, Zack delivered a version of Justice League that is built to fit IMAX screens perfectly. He has given fans the Snyder cut in the IMAX version.

Justice League was originally released back in the year 2017. Zack Snyder stepped out from the project during the post-production stage of the film citing personal reasons when Joss Whedon chimed in for him. After its release, the movie received umpteen censure with fans demanding the release of Snyder’s version. The wish of all DC fans has now been fulfilled as they will now be able to watch the film at their home using HBO Max.