When it comes to the Justice League movie that we ultimately received in theaters, I remain somewhat indifferent on the subject. Granted, I found it to be a very fun and entertaining viewing experience, though I felt it wasn’t quite the epic that DC’s A-list characters deserved. This, of course, was due to it being the product of two directors – Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon – not to mention a studio committee. The fact that something coherent came out in the end is nothing short of a miracle.
Admittedly, I’m nowhere near the likes of those who light up Twitter threads with demands of Warner Bros. releasing the Snyder cut, yet I’ll forever remain curious as to how Zack’s original vision would’ve turned out. Hey, if we received Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut 25 years after Richard Lester’s effort hit theaters, then I think it’s fair to say “never say never” in this case.
By now, I’m sure everyone reading this is aware of how Snyder was originally supposed to release Justice League as a two-part saga before it got trimmed down to a standalone tale focusing on Steppenwolf as the main antagonist, but recent reports stated that a trilogy had actually been planned.
Backing up this claim is none other than Kevin Smith, who became privy to some intriguing information while visiting the set of Star Wars: Episode IX. While there, he chatted with crew members who worked on Justice League under the watch of both Snyder and Whedon.
Here’s what Smith revealed on his Fatman Beyond podcast, with the finer points being summed up by Revenge of the Fans:
-
Crew members saw Jim Lee storyboards for all 3 Justice League movies.
-
The first movie was more or less what we saw (story wise, with Steppenwolf). Except the ending had Darkseid see the League through a Boom Tube to set up the sequel.
-
JL2 went cosmic, and would take the fight to Apokolips, and involve New Genesis (presumably).
-
JL2 would have the Lantern Corp involved.
-
The scene from the trailer with Alfred saying “Let’s hope you’re not too late” was referencing Green Lantern, not Superman. Crews had green lights to shine on Alfred to project the green glow. (The audiences reaction to this revelation is great).
-
JL2 ends dark “like Empire Strikes Back or Infinity War“. Team goes to space, gets defeated and Darkseid goes to Earth and “levels it”, setting up JL3.
-
JL3 would have the apocalyptic vision that Batman had in BvS come to light.
-
The climax ofJL3 would be the heroes last stand against Darkseid and the forces of Apokolips on Earth.
As much as I lament never seeing Darkseid on the big screen, I’m not sure if featuring him as the big bad in two consecutive flicks would’ve been the best idea. And though all of this sounds pretty believable, I must side with RTF in saying that certain details could’ve been embellished for Smith’s benefit.
If I’m to question anything here, it’d be a Green Lantern showing up to greet Alfred. Seeing as how no actor had been cast as a member of the Corps, it’d be mighty difficult to film such a scene. Plus, the footage showing Superman in the deleted scene was shot by Snyder anyway, so I’m not sure why he’d be the one to make the change.
No matter what we’ve read here today that’s truth, exaggeration, or something in between, I think we can all agree some of it ranks among the best bits of Justice League trivia to emerge to date. Let’s just hope that we learn more as time goes on.
