When Zack Snyder was basically spear-heading the entire DCEU, he had an ambitious plan that rivaled what Marvel had been doing with the MCU. That included not only Justice League in 2017, but sequels to follow. We learned recently that the followup would’ve taken place primarily in the post-apocalyptic “Knightmare” future glimpsed by Batman. Well, there was A LOT that was going to lead in to that. While we may see some of this played out when Zack Snyder’s Justice League hits HBO Max in a couple of weeks, the full scope of his plans is laid out as part of The Dreamscapes Of Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ Exhibition in downtown Dallas, with sketches by the great Jim Lee.
This is a massive undertaking, and I would say it rivals the Avengers films in scope, while also echoing some of the story beats. Snyder wanted to do at least two sequels, one that was more grounded and dealt with the heroes reconnecting with their families and tying up loose ends. The other part would be the full invasion by Darkseid, the acquistion of the power Anti-Life Equation, and Lex Luthor assembling his own team of baddies. We saw a teaser for this new team at the end of Whedon’s Justice League, with the arrival of Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke.
When people rip apart the DCEU for feeling incoherent, they fail to recognize that the movies kept changing, being delayed, or pulled altogether by Warner Bros. But the initial plan actually made quite a lot of sense, which we see in Snyder’s Justice League 2 breakdown. He accounts for Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, pulling in Dr. Maru as a part of Luthor’s squad. There’s also Leonard Start aka Captain Cold, who would’ve faced The Flash if his movie had launched in 2018 as planned. Orn and Black Manta from Aquaman are involved, and even The Riddler from the Batman film that Ben Affleck was to direct.
One other thing to note is that Justice League 2 is incredibly grim. We’re talking Avengers: Infinity War stuff here. Lex’s Injustice League manage to kill Wonder Woman (who has also glimpsed the Knightmare future, one in which she kills Superman), they murder Aquaman, The Riddler commits suicide after solving the Anti-Life Equation, Cyborg is literally torn apart protecting Flash, and then Darkseid attacks the Batcave and incinerates Lois Lane (!!!) who has just been revealed to be pregnant. This sends Superman into a rage, and he uses his heat vision to turn Lex into ash.
The film then jumps forward five years and we are in that Knightmare future with Batman leading a ragtag group that includes a few rebels, Flash, and what remains of Cyborg.
Then begins part 2A, which introduces Green Lantern into the mix and has the big showdown with Darkseid. It’s a fight that will find Batman sacrificing his life (goodbye Bat-fleck!) for the team of outsiders he assembled years earlier.
I hate this because it all reads pretty incredible, and Jim Lee’s art makes me want to see it even more. Perhaps we’ll get it in comic book form? Something tells me that’s where we’re headed, although undoubtedly Snyder’s fans will demand he get a shot to realize this as a movie, too.
Check out our friends at Bleeding Cool for the full transcript with images.
