Harry Lennix explains how he filmed one of Justice League's Martian Manhunter scenes in Zack Snyder's driveway. Lennix has been a part of the DCEU from the very start, appearing in 2013's Man of Steel as General Swanwick. However, it's taken some time for his character to evolve into his intended form. Snyder always planned to reveal Swanwick as DC Comics character Martian Manhunter, but his departure from Justice League midway through production led to Lennix's role being cut from the theatrical version by Joss Whedon. Over the years, Snyder teased Martian Manhunter's role in his grand DCEU plan, but only recently has it come to fruition.
With Zack Snyder's Justice League, the fan-favorite director was able to restore his vision for the first-ever live-action film about the iconic DC team. This included putting Lennix's Martian Manhunter scenes back in. The character only appears twice in Justice League: First, with the reveal that he was masquerading as Martha Kent (Diane Lane) while speaking to Lois Lane (Amy Adams), and then at the end, when he arrives with a warning for Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). The Martha Kent scene, in particular, required some creative filmmaking.
Lennix participated in Justice Con a couple of weekends ago, where he shared his hopes for Martian Manhunter's future and various behind-the-scenes tidbits from Justice League. Lennix explained that the scene where he leaves Martha Kent's apartment was shot in Snyder's driveway, and he expected the film's final scene with Batman to be filmed in much the same way. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Lennix shot the final scene against a green screen in New York while Snyder directed him via Zoom. Lennix explained:
We shot that [Martha Kent scene] in Zack's driveway, they rigged up the green thing. And I thought we were gonna do much the same [for the final scene], you know, use the natural light which is great in California. And I was all set to go, but the COVID thing was really weird... It just became something they were determined to do, and they figured it out, the mechanics of it and how to shoot that with me in New York in a sound studio.
Snyder previously shared he had to direct multiple actors over Zoom, including Lane and Ezra Miller (who was filming Fantastic Beasts 3 in the U.K. at the time). All told, the latest Justice League reshoots didn't involve too many scenes, but it did force some unconventional setups. Considering the difficulties that come from shooting a movie during a pandemic, it's impressive to see what Snyder and his team were able to pull together for the newly filmed scenes. Much of the new additions were for the end of Justice League, such as the Knightmare sequence that would have set up a sequel.
Lennix has shared his hopes about playing Martian Manhunter again, whether it be in a Justice League 2 or a solo movie for the character. For the time being, there are no plans to continue Snyder's DCEU despite fans' best efforts to keep it going, and it remains to be seen if that could ever change. Should nothing else come of it, at least Snyder was given the chance to release the Justice League he always wanted to. This gave him the opportunity to finally debut Martian Manhunter, to have Batman and the Joker (Jared Leto) come face to face, and to introduce Darkseid (Ray Porter) to the franchise. That's not an insignificant thing.
Source: Justice Con
