Zack Snyder's Original 'Justice League' Script Was Never Shot
The Avengers director Joss Whedon was brought in to finish Justice League after director Zack Snyder stepped away to deal with a family tragedy. The result was a mess of a movie that tried to distance itself from Snyder's vision that began in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and take the DC Extended Universe in a different direction. The film didn't land very well with critics and it also didn't deliver the box office performance Warner Bros. was hoping for.
Ever since the messy version of Justice League hit theaters, fans of director Zack Snyder have been clamoring to see the director's cut of the movie that would have resolved the Knightmare sequence which teased a dark future for not just Superman and Batman, but the entire planet. However, Zack Snyder revealed that the original version of the Justice League script never even made it in front of cameras.
Zack Snyder recently participated in a panel following a special theatrical screening of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ultimate Edition. Somehow, no one participating in the Q&A thought to ask him whether the Snyder Cut of Justice League was something that actually existed, but he might have given us the answer anyway when discussing the development of Justice League after the studio became worried about the reception of Batman v Superman. ScreenRant was in attendance and recapped what Zack Snyder had to say:
So the original Justice League script, we didn't even shoot. The really scary version. Because we were really nervous after the response.
— ☕Stephen M. Colbert (@smcolbert) March 25, 2019
That means Zack Snyder's true vision for Justice League that he wrote with Chris Terrio (Argo) was never actually shot. Following the release of Batman v Superman, the studio got worried about the unfavorable reactions, and a rewrite was done to make Justice League a little more palatable. We'd contend that it was much more than a vocal minority that made these changes necessary, and the box office performance backs that up. So what does this mean for the desire Snyder Cut?
Well, it means there's a version of Justice League that was completely shot by Zack Snyder. But even that director's cut wouldn't be the ultimate vision he had to continue the story that was set up in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Instead, it was a rewrite that already tried to make the events of Batman v Superman less important. So while the script would certainly be a little more in tune to what Snyder had planned, it wouldn't be exactly what he wanted to do. That probably won't stop fans from wanting to see it though. For now, they'll have to settle for learning these little tidbits:
working with Batman to send Flash back to warn Bruce. There was a scene in the trailer, apparently it didn't make it into the movie, where Bruce says Flash came to him and warned him that "Lois was the key" and something darker was coming."
— ☕Stephen M. Colbert (@smcolbert) March 25, 2019
And Cyborg asked when Batman wante to send Flash back between 2 windows. Batman said "Which one would you send him in if youi didn't ask me?" and then tells Cyborg to do the opposite. Darkseid was supposed to boom tube into the Batcave and murder Lois!?!?
— ☕Stephen M. Colbert (@smcolbert) March 25, 2019
Well, Darkseid coming to Earth and killing Lois in the Batcave is certainly a dark path to take. That certainly explains why Superman was so pissed at Batman in that Knightmare sequence. But there are still a lot of unanswered questions. And as much as fans want to see Zack Snyder's vision for Justice League, it just sounds like it's not in the cards.
One day, hopefully we'll get a detailed book (or maybe even a documentary) speaking with all the key parties about the making of Justice League. That'll probably be the only way we learn what Zack Snyder intended to do with Justice League. It'll be like the tales of development from that Superman movie that would have been directed by Tim Burton and starring Nicolas Cage. And we can't wait to get all the juicy details.