Ever since director Zack Snyder exited the production of Warner Bros. and DC's JUSTICE LEAGUE, die hard fans of his vision for the DCEU have been climbing the walls for the studio to release a director's cut of the film. Well, climbing the walls doesn't really do the commotion justice, does it? It's been more like a constant ringing in the ears of cinephiles, as there are some who still feel as if Snyder's version would have triumphed over Joss Whedon's finished product. Whedon has been hired to replace Snyder as the film's director following a deluge of mixed reactions to Snyder's BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. Additionally, a tragic death hit the Snyder family unit while shooting, prompting the SUCKER PUNCH filmmaker to call for some personal time away from the camera. In the end, JUSTICE LEAGUE arrived as a divisive film despite the studio's efforts to deliver a superhero blockbuster event for the ages.
Fast-forward to this past weekend, to when Snyder hosted a special birthday event that included Director's Cut screenings of three of his fan-favorite films: DAWN OF THE DEAD, WATCHMEN, and BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. Following the screening of BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, Snyder hosted a live Q&A, where a fan forthrightly asked, "What the hell happened," with regard to his unfinished version of JUSTICE LEAGUE.
"That's a good question," Snyder replied. He then continued, "The original Justice League that Chris [Terrio] and I wrote, we didn't even shoot… The actual idea, the hard, hard idea, the scary idea, we never filmed because the studio was like 'That's crazy,'" Snyder then explained that after BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE didn't go over the way the studio had hoped, that a fear of losing those who were in the "vocal minority" had taken root. Essentially, the studio had developed a strong sense of trepidation, and had become unwilling to attempt aspects of Snyder's elaborate plan.
"It's a long story," Snyder continued. "The truth is that, the Knightmare sequence in this movie was always my idea that all of that would eventually be explained … and that we would end up in the distance future, where Darkseid has taken over Earth and where Superman has succumbed to the Anti-Life [Equation] … There was a few members of the Justice League that had survived in that world, that they were fighting. Batman broke a pact with Cyborg because something happened… They were working on an equation to jump Flash back to tell Bruce…"
This of course is a reference to Snyder's BATMAN V SUPERMAN team, an ensemble The Flash once told Batman that "Lois Lane is the key" to. As you now know, this plot point was never explored in JUSTICE LEAGUE. As Snyder tells it, Warner Bros. was game to tell his story overall, but "the details of how and why" the Justice League eventually disbanded gave the studio pause, prompting them to request that the story go in a different direction.
Switching gears a bit, Snyder then addressed his post-credits scene that was cut from the film, an instance that would have revealed that the team's battle against Darkseid wasn't over just yet.
"The Justice League teaser that wasn't in the movie, apparently, I guess, where Wonder Woman says, it's this line where Bruce says 'I was right here when Barry Allen came to me and he said Lois Lane is the key,' and she says 'She is, to Superman. Every heart has one.' And he goes, 'I think it's something more, something darker.'"
Snyder then explained to an eager crowd that if Lois had died, Superman would have fallen to the Anti-Life Equation.
"If Superman knew that somehow it was Bruce's responsibility to protect Lois, he would have been mad at him in [Batman v Superman]. So that's why he says 'She was my world, and you took her from me.'"
Snyder then went on to explain that his plan was for Cyborg to transport The Flash back in time, altering the events of BATMAN V SUPERMAN to support the new narrative. Obviously, this never cam to pass. Instead, Barry was to make an attempt at preventing Lois' murder at the over-sized mitts of Darkseid, who'd just Boom Tubed into the Batcave.
As you can imagine, the crowd went wild. In fact, several members of the audience began chanting "Release the Snyder Cut," but alas, Snyder's reveal of the plan will have to suffice.
Now that you have some more pieces to the puzzle, what do you think of Snyder's defunct vision for JUSTICE LEAGUE? Let us know in the comments section below.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed