Warning: Spoilers For Zack Snyder's Justice League
How was Batman's arc meant to play out after Zack Snyder's Justice League? The Snyder Cut has finally be released on HBO Max and other streaming platforms around the world, and with the radical difference it represents from its 2017 counterpart, and the movie's cliffhanger ending, many are asking what would have been next for Snyder's DCEU story. Warner Bros. Chairman Ann Sarnoff says there won't be any additional movies from Snyder's DCEU plan, but there was a blueprint for where he'd take the story.
Snyder's original plan for the Justice League 2 and Justice League 3 story has recently found its way online through a collection of whiteboards detailing the basic narrative flow of Snyder's intended five-movie arc. It should be emphasized that specific elements of this outline are already outdated due to alterations with Justice League, but Snyder says they can still be seen as a general overview of the story. Nevertheless, while they should be looked at in terms of the forest rather than the trees, the whiteboards provide a great look into what the Justice League sequels were intended to be.
Like his fellow members of the Justice League, Ben Affleck's Batman had a big part to play in Snyder's five-part story, while Affleck also had a Batman film in the works before his departure from the DCEU. With the Snyder Cut getting the arc to part three, where the story went from there, and whether those plans are ever dusted off, are big questions in the wake of the film's release. Here's where Batman's story was meant to go in Affleck's Batman movie and in the two Justice League sequels.
Batman's Story In Justice League Snyder Cut Explained
Where Bruce Wayne's story in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was about his descent into a more violent mindset, his paranoia at what Superman might become, and his return to being a true hero by the end, his arc in the Snyder Cut is about Bruce not only fully adopting a more heroic identity, but becoming a leader against an impending threat. In comparison, the theatrical cut took Bruce down a road of being burdened by his guilt over his actions in Batman v Superman to the point of irrationality.
In the Snyder Cut, Batman's guilt is still there, but he doesn't allow it to cloud his judgment, either. Guided by the promise he made over Superman's grave that "I won't fail him in death", Batman returns to the strategic, intellectual hero he should be in his efforts to form the Justice League. Additionally, the decision to bring Superman back with the Mother Box is one that the League still has some debate about, but ultimately arrives to unanimously, with Bruce and the League weighing the risk of Steppenwolf being alerted to the Box awakening.
Batman's relationship with Superman also shifts to one of faith, with Batman believing in the hero Superman is and his faith that the resurrected Man of Steel will come to his senses and join the League to defeat Steppenwolf by the end being validated. The movie ends with Bruce experiencing another vision of the Knightmare, and being met by Martian Manhunter at his lakehouse, welcoming his help to prevent Darkseid from arriving to claim the Anti-Life Equation.
Batman's Story In Snyder's Original Justice League 2 Plans
Following Justice League, the arc of Bruce Wayne was to continue Ben Affleck's abandoned solo Batman movie, set up as the end of the Snyder Cut in Lex Luthor's meeting with Deathstroke, who learns Bruce Wayne is Batman and offers to take him out pro-bono over something "personal." Per Joe Manganiello, Affleck's film was akin to the Michael Douglas thriller The Game, with Slade Wilson strategically attacking every aspect of Bruce's life, and also included action scenes inspired by Batman and Deathstroke's Arkham Origins fights. Following this, Batman would have been seen again in Justice League 2, which was where the full pay-off for the Knightmare teases in Batman v Superman and the Snyder Cut would have taken place.
Justice League 2 would have been predicated on Darkseid's conquest of Earth, and Superman falling under his control through the Anti-Life Equation. With the help of some surviving allies, specifically Cyborg, The Flash, Deathstroke, Mera, and The Joker, as seen in the Snyder Cut's ending (although the original plan in the whiteboards included Deadshot), Batman devised a plan to steal one of the Mother Boxes from Darkseid in order to construct the Cosmic Treadmill. Barry Allen was then sent back in time to stop Darkseid's killing of Lois Lane, the key event in the past that made the emotionally broken Superman susceptible to the Anti-Life Equation. This is also where the evolving nature of the plan comes into play. At the initial stage of planning, Lois and Bruce would have become close after Superman's death and conceived a child. This plot was removed in rewrites, making Clark the father. Lex Luthor's formation of the Legion of Doom was also part of an early phase of the plan, as seen on the aforementioned whiteboards. In any case, Barry's altering of the timeline gave Superman the opportunity to fight off Darkseid's attack and set the stage for Justice League 3.
How Batman's Story Ended In Snyder's Justice League 3
As the fifth chapter of Snyder's five-film story, Justice League 3 was to center on the League's final showdown with Darkseid and the forces of Apokolips. As outlined in Snyder's whiteboards, Aquaman and Wonder Woman would have enlisted Atlantis and Themyscira to face-off with Darkseid, while the armies of mankind would have also joined in the battle. This was in the aim of creating a modern version of the history lesson depicting Darkseid's first invasion of Earth, with the Justice League, the armies of man, Atlantis, and Themyscira all joining forces to save the world from Apokolips.
Batman's arc would have concluded in Justice League 3 with the Dark Knight sacrificing himself in the battle against Darkseid. Lois and Clark would then honor their fallen friend by naming their son Bruce Kent, and though Snyder has stated that he would not have inherited any of Clark's Kryptonian powers, he would nonetheless go on to become a hero himself. Years after Batman's sacrifice, Bruce Kent would then be shown the Batcave by Lois, with Bruce Wayne's legacy as a hero being continued with Lois and Clark's son taking up his mantle as the new Batman.
Batman's DCEU Canon Story Going Forward
Now that the Snyder Cut is out, the world has more than one Batman to look forward to in the future. After Affleck departed from The Batman, Matt Reeves stepped in as director while Robert Pattinson assumed the role of Bruce Wayne. The Batman is currently set to be released on March 4th, 2022, and will exist in its own continuity outside of the canon established by Snyder. However, Affleck's Batman won't be too far behind in his next appearance.
Affleck's Batman will be seen again in The Flash, which take inspiration from the premise of the Flashpoint comics story, but retools it as a vehicle for exploring DC's Multiverse. The movie will also see the return of Michael Keaton as Batman as well. While the specific details of the film are understandbly being kept under wraps, the prevailing rumor is that it'll be used to phase Affleck's Batman out of the DCEU.
With the Snyder Cut released and seeing an overall positive reception, the question inevitably comes to will the #RestoreTheSnyderVerse hashtag achieve its goal as #ReleaseTheSnyderCut already has, despite WB's insistence otherwise. Fans desiring more from Snyder's story after Zack Snyder's Justice League have proved persistent in the past, so the real challenge will be for WB to win them over with their newer offerings. Regardless, Affleck's Batman will have at least one more ride.
