Updated September 10, 2020 3.3k votes 692 voters 45.2k views
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Love him or hate him, there's no denying director Zack Snyder had a particular plan for the live-action DC Extended Universe. With Warner Bros. moving away from Snyder's grim vision for the DC superheroes, the original DCEU plans changed dramatically.
Though DCEU films like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice were met with critical and commercial disappointment, Snyder still developed an active fandom who wanted to see more of his world. It's why, after the release of Justice League, many DCEU fans and even actors in Snyder's cast pressed WB to release the director's cut of the film - perhaps with even more improvised moments than before. Who knows, maybe Snyder's Justice League could have been one of the best DC superhero movies of all time?
With an HBO Max premiere formally announced, fans will finally see for themselves. Back when a release for Snyder's director's cutlooked unlikely, though, the former mastermind of the DCEU was sharing his original plans for Batman, Superman, and the like online, giving glimpses at the Justice League that is heading to WB's streaming service.
One thing fans have noticed when watching Man of Steel or Batman v Superman is the gritty atmosphere of these films is reminiscent of the Injustice video game series. Particularly in the case of the latter, as the "Knightmare" sequence featured Batman fighting an evil Superman, which feels inspired by the game. According to Snyder, that's not a coincidence.
When a fan asked if he planned on adapting the Injustice storyline, Snyder simply said, "Oh yes." While the Injustice video games have only been around for a few years, the alternate take on the Justice League has become incredibly popular, spawning two comic book series and a sequel in 2017, Injustice 2. Given its popularity, it's not a surprise Snyder would turn to Injustice as inspiration for a dark interpretation of the DC heroes.
While casual moviegoers consider Marvel's Thanos the big bad of the comic book world, DC fans know in their heart that Darkseid is where it's at. With a live-action Justice League movie finally happening after all these years, many DC fans were hopeful for the big screen introduction of the ruler of Apokolips. Unfortunately, Darkseid never appeared in the final version of the movie.
With Darkseid only getting a mere whisper in Justice League, many DCEU fans wonder if things would have been different if Snyder continued his vision. Well, a leaked storyboard drawn by Snyder revealed Darkseid was indeed supposed to show up in Justice League, in what appears to be another Knightmare vision scene.
Furthermore, concept art for the movie revealed a younger-looking Darkseid that may have been from a flashback scene. Snyder commented on the concept art, saying Darkseid was "searching for something that would make him unbeatable." Snyder eventually shared a look at the Darkseid scene on his Vero account.
Among the numerous plotlines in Snyder's DCEU, it's safe to assume WB will likely ignore the Knightmare storyline from Batman v Superman moving forward. Batman fighting a murderous Superman in a post-apocalyptic world no longer fits the optimistic narrative WB is trying to build with these DC heroes. Nonetheless, fans are still wondering what could have pushed that version of Superman to his breaking point.
According to Snyder, Superman became the victim of a "certain equation" following the loss of a loved one, which may have been Batman's fault. If you're unfamiliar with the "equation" line, Snyder was hinting towards the Anti-Life Equation, a powerful concept in the comics that convinces people life, hope, and freedom are pointless. And it's an equation often sought by Darkseid, who was meant to appear in Snyder's two-part vision of Justice League.
One of the most shocking scenes in the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer was the image of a vandalized Robin suit, suggesting Batman's young ward had met his end. Taking into account the spray-painted "HAHAHA" and "Jokes on you, Batman," it doesn't take a detective to figure out the killer was the Joker. What wasn't clear, however, was which particular Robin bit the dust.
Fans speculated the dead Robin was most likely Jason Todd, as the classic comic book storyline "A Death in the Family" is based on his demise. Shockingly, that's not the case. Snyder revealed on social media site Vero that the dead Robin in Batman v Supermanwas actually Dick Grayson, Batman's first sidekick.
During the early days of Justice League filming, rumors abounded that Henry Cavill would don the black Superman suit in the movie. A believable rumor, as Superman wore a black suit following his resurrection in the comics. The theatrical version of Justice League had no such scene, though. And in the home video release, the black suit only appeared as an Easter egg in one of the film's deleted scenes.
According to Justice League costume designer Michael Wilkinson, there were talks of using the black Superman suit in the film, but they ultimately decided to stick with the red and blue to better represent Superman's new optimistic tone. Given Zack Snyder was replaced by director Joss Whedon on Justice League, the black Superman suit may have remained if Snyder retained creative control of the film.
Moviegoers and longtime comic book fans were shocked by the sudden death of Superman in Batman v Superman. Even though Superman was eventually resurrected in Justice League, a "Death of Superman" story seemed a bit premature for the DCEU. Well, according to Snyder, Superman wasn't the only superhero who would have died in action.
In his original five-story-arc plan for the DCEU, Snyder would have eventually killed off Batman, presumably in Justice League 2. When a DCEU fan shared their art of Superman holding a dead Batman with the caption "What we may have seen in the five-story arc...," Snyder responded with "of course." Would Batman's death have been permanent, or short-lived like Superman's? Only Snyder knows the answer to that question.
