The recently released trailer for the Snyder Cut of Justice League features an unexpected Easter Egg from none other than the Joker via a cryptic clue in the Knightmare future scene. Watchmen director Zack Synder’s cut of 2017’s Justice League has endured a long and difficult journey to the screen, with even the potential title Zack Snyder's Justice League proving controversial. Unprecedented levels of fan demand prompted a massive campaign for the Snyder Cut’s release. Many DCEU fans feel this darker version of the blockbuster is more true to Snyder’s vision than the theatrically released cut of the Justice League. After years of petitioning, the fans are finally getting what they hoped for, and in typical Snyder fashion, the teaser even included a Joker Easter Egg.
It was clear from Snyder’s description of the project and insider information leaked in the wake of the theatrical release that his version of the Justice League would be an altogether darker film. But the film’s trailer offered the first concrete look at this vision for fans who have waited years to see Snyder’s ideas on screen and it is filled with big differences from the 2017 Justice League movie. The changes featured in the trailer include a new design for the villain Steppenwolf, a peek at Darkseid, the restoration of Cyborg's character, and a completely new style of cinematography for the film's action. Most interestingly for Joker fans, it also includes a glimpse of the dystopian Knightmare future that has a nod to the famous villain.
During the trailer's shot of the Knightmare future, a burnt Joker card can be seen fluttering amongst the rubble. As the movie was made in a pre-Joaquin Phoenix era, the Joker whose card appears in the Easter egg is Jared Leto’s version of the villain. The tone of this Justice League is already more serious than the theatrical cut, so fans are eager to see how Snyder’s version differs from both the divisive 2017 film and the more colorful Suicide Squad.
This isn’t the only nod to the larger DC universe, as the trailer also teases an appearance from Martian Manhunter. But for fans of Snyder’s DC filmography, this Easter egg from the Knightmare future is a bittersweet nod to what might have been. It seems less and less likely that Snyder’s version of the Justice League will ever receive a sequel of its own, so this brief glimpse of the Knightmare future may be the last reference that viewers get to it. And with it, the last mention of Leto's Joker, presumably. The card was previously used as an Easter egg on the barrel of Batman's rifle in the Knightmare sequence, almost suggesting that he had taken a trophy having defeated his most famous enemy. The fun and unexpected Easter egg is a sad sight for some fans who miss this darker DCEU, but there is another way to interpret the shot.
The sight of the Joker’s calling card could also be read as a tacit endorsement of the fan campaign to release Training Day director David Ayers's original Suicide Squad, a decision which seems more likely now. Another tortured production, Suicide Squad was hastily re-edited to be a lighter, funnier affair thanks to the success of Deadpool. The beleaguered director bemoaned the loss of his “soulful drama” and claimed the film was “beaten into a comedy”. This tonal irregularity was behind many of Suicide Squad’s bad reviews. Could the restored Easter egg in Snyder's Justice League cut be a nod to his fellow creator?
