Amid tracing allegations, the fan project aiming to create a motion comic based on Zack Snyder’s original plans/storyboards for Justice League 2 is no longer happening. Following the tragic death of Zack and Deborah Snyder’s daughter, the pair departed Justice League’s production in 2017. Then, Warner Bros. brought in The Avengers’ Joss Whedon to rework the former’s vision into what is now known as the theatrical “Josstice League.” Snyder’s original four-hour vision recently made its way to HBO Max thanks to the fan-led campaign to #ReleasetheSnyderCut; reinvigorating interest in Snyder’s planned trilogy of movies and the larger Snyder-Verse.
Despite the acclaim of Snyder’s Justice League, cries to have the Snyder-Verse restored have all but been ignored by the studio. Since sequels don’t appear to be happening, a great deal of information regarding Justice League 2 and 3 has been divulged via concept art, interviews, and Snyder, Jim Lee, and Geoff Johns’ storyboards. That said, LightCast announced plans earlier this month to create a motion-comic based on those storyboards (among other things) detailing Snyder’s Justice League sequels. Titled The Dreamscapes of Justice League: A Motion Comic, the non-profit project benefiting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention was set to have Darkseid actor Ray Porter serve as the narrator and Martian Manhunter actor Harry Lenix reprise his role. However, the project recently came under fire for tracing DC Comics artwork and now won’t be happening at all.
In a lengthy statement released on their since-deleted Twitter account, LightCast announced they would be abandoning plans to make The Dreamscapes of Justice League: A Motion Comic. The team cited “general uneasiness about the project from the general public, some rare targeted harassment towards members of the team, the countless legalities we've dealt with & ultimately our own mistakes on certain parts of the project." The news is frustrating for proponents of #RestoreTheSnyderVerse.
Ever since LightCast started sharing artwork to promote the comic, Twitter users started highlighting how much of it resembled work by DC Comics’ Jim Lee, Rafa Sandoval, Jason Fabok, and Ivan Reis. This sparked a great deal of debate online with some arguing that Justice League’s motion comic is a charitable project and LightCast won’t be profiting from the project. However, it’s hard to defend them not citing or even tagging the original artists. The team later shared original work for the project, which certainly paled in comparison to the shared tracings. While there may have been other reasons for the project’s cancellation, the bad press calling LightCast out for stealing is enough to make most fans, and the big names involved, wash their hands of it—Lennix and Porter have yet to comment.
It’s truly unfortunate that a project that started out with seemingly the best intentions, failed in its execution both ethically and otherwise. The success of Snyder’s Justice League was a win for creative integrity and against studio interference; hopefully, paving the road with less resistance for writers, directors, actors, etc. moving forward. Justice League 2 would’ve further explored Batman’s teased Apokolipotic Knightmare, Superman succumbing to the Anti-Life Equation, the death of Lois Lane, Flash’s time-travel antics, and Lex Luther’s Injustice League/Legion of Doom. If there’s any good to come from LightCast’s shortcomings, perhaps continued support of the Snyder-Verse will result in an official adaption of Snyder's storyboards someday.
Source: LightCast/Twitter
