For many fans, The Flash served as a rather unimpressive adaptation of the iconic Flashpoint storyline. In a recent interview, Justice League storyboard artist Jay Olivia revealed Zack Snyder’s original plan for adapting the DC Comics arc.
It seems as though every year fans get more news about Zack Snyder’s scrapped DC Universe plan. While the details of his Justice League trilogy featuring Darkseid have been known since before the release of the Snyder Cut, the release of The Flash has spurred storyboard artist Jay Olivia to reveal Snyder’s original plan to reboot the DC universe with Flashpoint, and how Eobard Thawne (a.k.a. Professor Zoom) played into the story:.
“Rick [Famuyiwa]’s movie was laying the groundwork for Zoom as the big baddy of the DC Universe,” Jay told Inverse, in reference to the original concept for The Flash. “It was Professor Zoom pulling the strings because he had come from the future to basically f*ck with Barry. In the Flash movies, Zoom would be the villain in the background. But also in the ancillary other films, you would see some of the influences of Zoom on the rest of the Justice League.”
“At the ending of Zack’s Darkseid quadrilogy, or whatever, we would end up with a Justice League Unlimited version of the Snyder-verse,” she continued. “And then you flip it. You do Flashpoint Paradox. Everybody who’s friends are now enemies, and it’s a world that you don’t want to live in. You can reboot the universe and introduce a new cast that way. Because after 10 years, the actors need to go onto something else.”
While it’s certain fans would’ve loved to see Zack Snyder’s take on Flashpoint following the well-received Snyder Cut of Justice League, the idea of Professor Zoom orchestrating conflict across the DC Universe may resemble a controversial storyline from Joshua Williamson’s Flash comic that held the same twist. Though given the reception of The Flash in this timeline, that might’ve been a trade-off fans were willing to take.
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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