Director Zack Snyder confirms why Darkseid invades Earth in his Justice League. Even those who saw 2017's Justice League can't claim they've seen Snyder's movie. Though his name is on the film and he kicked off production, Snyder left midway through following a family tragedy, and Joss Whedon took over the reshoots. Instead of merely completing Justice League, however, Whedon ended up altering much of Snyder's original plans. Snyder's version of the DC film will finally be released next year on HBO Max, and it'll be completely different from what came before. In fact, Snyder has confirmed his cut won't include anything Whedon shot.
There are countless differences between Snyder's Justice League and Whedon's, from the supporting characters to the story they participate in. One of the most notable changes is the inclusion of DC big bad Darkseid (Ray Porter), who Snyder always intended to be the mastermind of the movie. While Steppenwolf is the more prominent villain, he's being controlled by Darkseid, who invaded Earth years before the film began. Fans are eager to learn more about Darkseid and his role within Justice League, and Snyder has finally pulled back the curtain a bit more on the villain's goals.
During his live breakdown of the latest Justice League trailer, Snyder confirmed Darkseid's primary reason for invading Earth. He's come in search of the Anti-Life equation, which DC fans know is essentially a weapon to give someone complete control over sentient beings. Snyder reveals this while showing the trailer's first shot of Darkseid, explaining Darkseid "dug the earth up because he felt like the Anti-Life equation was here, and then he had to pound the earth to reveal the Anti-Life equation, which we, in the movie, you see it in a physical form, which is all those patterns of lava that exist on the ground." Snyder then said the patterns would have to be deciphered to work out the equation.
In the theatrical Justice League, this sequence happened with Steppenwolf, and it wasn't confirmed that the invasion happened because of the Anti-Life equation. However, many fans were able to guess that the fiery symbols pertained to the equation. Snyder has teased its role in his Justice League for years now, but now it's clear that Darkseid is searching for it, much like he did in the comics.
How this will alter the entire course of Justice League remains to be seen, but it's clear Snyder's Darkseid is so far falling in line with the comics. Snyder's plans for Darkseid originally stretched into Justice League 2, but as there's no guarantee that will ever happen, it'll be interesting to see how Snyder chooses to proceed with his story. As Justice League is now a four-part miniseries, a lot of ground will be covered, and hopefully it'll meet fans' expectations. In the meantime, Snyder will presumably share more teases about his Justice League for fans to pore over and enjoy.
Source: Zack Snyder/Vero
