DC fans have forever been asking Warner Bros. to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut – the original version of Justice League from before the studio meddled with the team-up movie. However, to get the full scope of Snyder’s vision for the franchise, we need to know what would have happened in Justice League 2.
We’ve always known that he planned to make the first film directly lead into a second, which would’ve seen the League battle Darkseid for the sake of planet Earth. But could the tragic outcome of defeating the lord of Apokolips have been Batman sacrificing himself for the greater good? It certainly seems possible, as the filmmaker himself has seemingly confirmed that this twist would’ve occurred at the end of Justice League 2.
To begin with, Snyder shared a T-shirt design of his that’s part of a campaign to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The curious design has fans theorizing that it has some deeper meaning for his vision for DCEU and one idea has it that it teases that Batman would have died in JL2, with Superman and Lois Lane ending up having a son called Bruce – in honor of the fallen Dark Knight.
One fan pitched this theory to Snyder on Vero and, intriguingly, the director replied with a simple “applause” emoji. So, does that mean he’s congratulating the fan on correctly guessing how things would’ve played out? Or is he clapping at the imagination this individual displayed in coming up with the theory, even if it’s actually way off base?
Personally, I’d lean towards the latter. Sacrificing himself to save Earth would have been the perfect end to the redemptive arc Ben Affleck’s Batman should’ve undergone. In fact, it was kind of there in Justice League but definitely didn’t have the impact it should have. As for Clark and Lois starting a family, that’s also possible, as we know that Snyder intended to keep Lois an important part of the story – see: “Lois is the key” from Batman V Superman.
What do you think, though? Was Batman set to die in Justice League 2? Have your say in the comments section below.