Fans of director Zack Snyder’s plans for the DC Extended Universe know that, between unfortunate timing and studio interference, many of his original Justice League ideas were left on the cutting room floor. Luckily, fans got a peak at some of this scrapped information during this past weekend’s SnyderCon, including the reason Batman teamed up with the Joker and a secret new origin for Wonder Woman.
The first piece of new information received by fans was regarding the role of Gods in Zack Snyder’s DCEU. Snyder had previously said that it was possible that the Kryptonians who escaped from the crashed scout ship in Man of Steel would have gone on to become the original Amazons. This concept was elaborated on at this weekend’s event, with visual effects supervisor John Des Jardin saying that the scout ship iwas crashed by Ares, with the god killing its crew.
Zack Snyder said that Zeus could also “possibly be a Kryptonian” and that Wonder Woman’s powers would stem from her Kryptonian heritage. The change, according to Snyder, was meant to rationalize the idea of Gods in his world, and that it was a concept they played around quite a bit:
“The whole thing of whether or not magic and the gods….there’s a version where, okay, that’s cool, I guess. But there’s also the more scientific…where do gods come from?” Snyder told the panel “We had played around with that quite a bit.”
In the end, the idea of making Amazons into descendants of Kryptonians was scrapped. Some fans love this new origin, claiming that it adds a new layer of depth and realism to much beloved characters. Others claim that the origin completely misses the point of the character of Wonder Woman, further cementing her in the archetype of a “female Superman” when she has such a rich history of her own.
That wasn’t the only controversial idea Zack Snyder weighed in on this weekend. One of the few newly-filmed scenes in Zack Snyder’s Justice League cut is a “Knightmare” scene where Ben Affleck’s Batman has to work with Jared Leto’s Joker to take down the reign of Henry Cavill’s Superman. Many people thought this was out of character for the Dark Knight given the Joker had already murdered his sidekick by that point, as well as the fact that Affleck is an especially paranoid Batman. Snyder offered one possible explanation for this at SnyderCon, though stopped short of giving a full answer:
“Our theory is that [the Joker is] the one who knows where the Kryptonite, what shards of Kryptonite exist,” Snyder explained. “He has that information. And so he’s being carried…he has basically made a deal with Batman. ‘Don’t kill me, and I’ll show you. I’ll get you a tool to fight Superman.’ And so [Batman] is kind of stuck with him, in that way. If he kills him, or gets rid of him, then he’s screwed himself.”
This wasn’t the only piece of information Zack Snyder left up to fan interpretation. The filmmaker continued to talk about the relationship between Batman and Joker in his world, explaining that the villain was able to cut through to the core of Bruce’s insecurities”
“At that point, [Batman’s] real vulnerability was Robin.” He explained “What’s obvious is that the Joker understood that. Clearly, he blew him up. Or, it looks like he burned or scorched him.”
It seems as though Zack Snyder is content to move past his plans for DC Comics characters. The director has a lucrative deal with Netflix, launching the Army of the Dead franchise staring Dave Bautista and premiering his upcoming space epic Rebel Moon with the streamer later this year. It’s always nice to reflect on what could have been, but fans should rest easy knowing Snyder has a bright future ahead of him, even if the world of DC left him behind.
The SnyderVerse era is over for now
The term “SnyderVerse” refers to the interconnected film universe that Zack Snyder created, which began with Man of Steel and continued with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League. Those plans have been scrapped in favor of an interconnected DC Universe consisting of film, television, animation and video game projects, with James Gunn and Peter Safran at the helm.
Despite its mixed reception, the SnyderVerse has a dedicated fanbase that appreciates Zack Snyder’s DC Universe vision. Fans have praised the SnyderVerse films for their darker tone and mature storytelling. They have also criticized Warner Bros. and DC’s interference with Snyder’s DCU plans, which they believe resulted in the lackluster final product of Justice League.
In 2021, Zack Snyder released his four-hour long Justice League cut on the WarnerMedia streaming service HBO Max. His version of Justice League was well received by fans and critics alike, who praised its improvement over the original version of the movie, which was overseen by Joss Whedon. The release of the Snyder Cut has reignited interest in the SnyderVerse and sparked speculation about its future.
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