The two unmade sequels to Zack Snyder's Justice League were seemingly set up to be an adaptation of the Final Crisis comic book story, but how would they have built upon the famous DC Comics arc? Zack Snyder's tenure in the DCEU with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was subject to a divisive reception and second thoughts on the part of Warner Bros. This eventually led to heavy reshoots of Justice League, and the successful Snyder Cut campaign that followed it.
Snyder's plans for Justice League 2 and Justice League 3 have become equally legendary, having been presented publicly in a collection of whiteboards close to the Snyder Cut's release. Though the plan isn't fully current to how Snyder would make the films today, as the whiteboards don't show later behind-the scenes changes, the push for Snyder's Justice League sequels to be revived remains strong. Meanwhile, the source material for the unmade sequels has been largely pinpointed to Final Crisis, including from strategic teases made by Zack Snyder himself.
Looking at Snyder's outline for the Justice League sequels, elements and the general tone of Final Crisis can be very clearly seen. While Justice League 2 and Justice League 3 wouldn't have been literal Final Crisis adaptations, it is evident that they would have used it as their foundation to tell their own story, with some significant inspiration from the Injustice: Gods Among Us video games and comic books also added in. Here's how Zack Snyder's planned sequels to Justice League would have adapted the Final Crisis story.
How DC Comics' Final Crisis Story Unfolds
Final Crisis is a dense and very expansive comic book story, but the gist of the arc is Darkseid's attempt to enslave the world using the Anti-Life Equation. With reality also being drawn into a singularity, Darkseid, disguised in a human form, eventually succeeds in placing almost all of Earth's population under his control with his use of the Anti-Life Equation. In the ensuing battle, Batman employs a Radion bullet against Darkseid, but dies after being hit by one of his Omega Beams.
As reality begins to collapse, Superman manages to undo the damage with a device known as the Miracle Machine, and with the help of some other heroes, including other Supermen from throughout the Multiverse, restores reality and Earth back to normal. Meanwhile, Batman's ostensible death is revealed to have simply sent Bruce Wayne into the distant past, setting the stage for Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. Snyder's plans for the Justice League sequels display numerous elements drawn from Final Crisis.
Final Crisis Elements Seen In The Outline For Snyder's Justice League Sequels
The first Final Crisis element seen in Snyder's Justice League sequel plans lies in Darkseid's conquest of Earth and use of the Anti-Life Equation. His apparent target for this was Superman, who was to fall under Darkseid's control through the Anti-Life Equation after the villain's killing of Lois Lane. The concept of Superman becoming an antagonist—albeit involuntarily in this case—and Batman leading a resistance against him also adapts the basic template of the Injustice story. In essence, the Knightmare future of Snyder's Justice League films was combining elements of Injustice and Final Crisis, similar to Batman v Superman merging The Dark Knight Returns and The Death of Superman.
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Final Crisis also involves significant time-travel elements with The Flash. That being said, the context is quite different, with Barry Allen and Wally West trying and failing to stop the death of Darkseid's son Orion in Final Crisis, and Snyder's story involving Flash time traveling to prevent Lois' murder and erase the Knightmare timeline. Additionally, Final Crisis acting as a cataclysmic final battle is another element that Justice League 3 was going to adapt, along with Batman's heroic sacrifice against Darkseid. However, Snyder's version would have been a definitive death for the Dark Knight, with Lois and Clark's son Bruce Kent to become the new Batman 20 years later.
Why Final Crisis Was The Basis For Justice League 2 & 3
In what has been revealed about his plans for the Justice League sequels, it's become clear that Snyder had more of a fixed endpoint compared to the MCU's story. Though Final Crisis didn't bring any DC Comics continuity to an end, the nature of the story lends itself very well to a film adaptation that could do just that. Additionally, Final Crisis provided the foundation for a battle-to-end-all-battles type of story to serve as the finale to his arc, as seen in the whiteboard outline describing Superman leading the Justice League and the whole world against Darkseid.
The major appeal of Final Crisis for Snyder was likely exemplified in the very first word of its title. The possibility of a pair of Justice League movies based on it included the story being able to end each character's arc in a way that would feel conclusive, from Superman's leadership role to the hero's death of Batman. For comic book stories that could wrap up his planned five-movie arc in a way that would truly feel like an epic finale, Final Crisis, with some Injustice elements also incorporated, arguably offered one of, if not the strongest one for Snyder to adapt.
With Snyder currently working on his next film Rebel Moon and numerous projects for Netflix, he's keeping busy as a filmmaker and has a lot of exciting film and television projects on the way with the streaming platform. At the same time, the fervor of what his Justice League sequels could have been has captured the imaginations of many fans who continue to call for Warner Bros. to give them the go-ahead, especially after the set up they were given in the ending of the Snyder Cut. With a basic picture of what they'd look like, Snyder's apparent decision to use Final Crisis as the basis for the sequels to Zack Snyder's Justice League has been also been brought much more into focus.
