Zack Snyder breaks down what would've happened in his unmade Justice League 2. This week will see the long-awaited and well-fought-for release of Snyder's Justice League, the original DCEU team-up film he set out to make years ago. Following his departure from the film in the middle of production, Warner Bros. brought Joss Whedon in to complete the film, but Whedon changed much of what Snyder had planned. Luckily, however, things are about to be fixed. The 4-hour Snyder Cut will restore the director's planned Justice League story, which would've served as the third installment of the director's five-movie plan.
Snyder has spoken at length about what his DCEU plan would've entailed. It began in 2013 with Man of Steel and continued with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. His Justice League was poised to ramp things up in a major way, bringing the titular team together in anticipation of a greater battle against Darkseid (Ray Porter) and the forces of Apokolips. Justice League 2 could've been the DCEU's Avengers: Endgame, but now it remains to be seen if it will ever happen.
Even if Justice League 2 never comes to pass, Snyder has the story already planned out. While speaking to the NYT about his first Justice League, Snyder revealed some details about where the sequel's story would have gone. As previously revealed, the film would've largely taken place in the post-apocalyptic Knightmare timeline and would have culminated in a massive battle with several different armies. Snyder said:
It’s the fall of Earth, when Superman succumbs to anti-life. And then sending Flash back in time to change one element so that doesn’t happen. And then the big battle where we beat him. When [the villain] Darkseid comes to Earth, in the movie that you’ll never see, the armies of Earth all unite again, as they did before. This time there would be aircraft carriers and Special Forces guys, all the armies of the world would come together, as well as [Aquaman’s fellow] Atlanteans rising out of the ocean and the Themyscirans [Wonder Woman’s compatriots] coming off their island. That was our big finale. But it’s a long drum roll and guitar solo to get there.
While Justice League will already be stuffed with epic action and moments fans have longed to see, it's clear the sequel would have gone even bigger. The Snyder Cut will spend some time in the Knightmare world, but it would have received an even greater focus in Justice League 2's story. That would've been an incredibly fascinating story to explore, and one that could make the final battle even more momentous. Unfortunately, it remains to be seen if Justice League 2 will ever happen.
Currently, there are no official plans for Snyder to create more DC projects, and he's said he doubts Warner Bros. is interested in Justice League 2. Reports have stated the studio believes Justice League to be a dead end, but there's still hope among fans that Snyder will get the chance to properly restore his DCEU vision. His comments about what would've happened in Justice League 2 will likely only fuel that hope, and it'll be quite interesting to see what the online conversation is like once the Snyder Cut drops this week. Should Warner Bros. give Snyder the chance to make his sequel, he's clearly ready to get to work.
Source: NYT
