The release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League has been met with a great reaction from fans, many of whom have noted how the movie has left out several sequel possibilities and hints. Even if a follow-up won’t be happening, the DC Extended Universe at large has had its outlook changed due to the revelations brought in the movie.
Quite a few of these have even shown established material in a different context, so there’s a lot more than meets the eye. Now that it’s time to speculate what’s next in store for the DCEU, it’s worth exploring the possibilities and revelations from Zack Snyder’s Justice League and how these things might factor later on.
The Anti-Life Equation Is On Earth
Darkseid made it very clear in his villainous monologue to Steppenwolf that he would stop at nothing to attain the Anti-Life Equation. It remained a concept that hadn’t been explored in the DCEU until this movie brought it in full.
Now, it’s known that the greatest weapon is on Earth, making the planet the center of the universe as far as Darkseid is concerned. The importance of the planet is now firmly understood and it’s clear that any potential alien superheroes will be arriving on Earth due to its status as the holder of the Anti-Life.
The Confirmed Deaths In The Knightmare Future
The Knightmare future heavily derives from the Injustice comics arc where Superman became evil after the death of Lois Lane. In the DCEU, the future showed the Man of Steel becoming enthralled by Darkseid, following which major heroes were killed.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League has removed the ambiguity behind the status of the deceased superheroes, as the deaths of Wonder Woman and Aquaman were shown, while Harley Quinn was also confirmed to have been killed. It also revealed Batman, Cyborg, and The Flash as the surviving members of the Justice League.
Amazons And Atlanteans Are Still Enemies
While it seemed as if Wonder Woman 1984 set up its sequel in some ways, Zack Snyder’s Justice League might present a future storyline of war between the Atlanteans and Amazons. Regardless of the possibilities, what’s now known is that the two civilizations have been at war.
This was confirmed in the conversation between Aquaman and Wonder Woman, where they acknowledged that teaming up was strange since their people hated each other. Due to this, any future interactions between the two beings might open up a new conflict.
Ares Was The Most Powerful Old God
Wonder Woman had brought the revelation that the Old Gods had been killed by Ares, but this had been attributed to him using sneaky tactics. However, Zack Snyder’s Justice League left no doubt of Ares being the most powerful villain, as he was shown beating Darkseid himself.
This battle had been eliminated from the original cut, with this version presenting a match-up between the two that showed Darkseid suffering a clean loss and being forced to retreat. It was also a way for the movie to reveal why Darkseid hadn’t invaded all this time.
Steppenwolf Only Invaded Earth To Please Darkseid
Zack Snyder’s Justice League had Steppenwolf stick close to the comics, as he was shown as a general of Darkseid rather than a random invader of worlds. The original movie had made him appear this way, as Steppenwolf came from nowhere and didn’t have a backstory.
This release confirmed that he had been operating under Darkseid’s orders all along, with Steppenwolf even interacting with him. It went further by explaining that Steppenwolf had to destroy thousands of worlds as atonement for his betrayal of Darkseid in the past, which explained why he arrived on Earth.
New Gods Fear Kryptonians
It wasn’t known what the extent of the New Gods’ powers were, as Steppenwolf appeared to be blindsided by Superman in the original release. Zack Snyder’s Justice League established that New Gods outright avoided coming across Kryptonians.
Steppenwolf was wary of the threat that Superman would pose and wanted to invade Earth without the Man of Steel factoring into the defense of the planet. Even Darkseid had no answer to the Justice League, as he was aware of the threat that Kryptonians pose.
Calvin Swanwick Is The Martian Manhunter
After almost a decade of fans theorizing about this, it was confirmed onscreen that Calvin Swanwick was always the Martian Manhunter in disguise. This places his actions in Man of Steel in a different context, as he’s been operating from the sidelines all along.
Another revelation that this brings up is the fact that Mars is now confirmed to house life in this continuity and, since Martian Manhunter is based on Earth, the planet has had its own tragedies that might be shown in the future.
Batman Ended Up Sending Robin To His Doom
Apart from hints in Batman v Superman that he might have killed Robin, Joker was stuck in rather cheesy material so far in the DCEU. Zack Snyder’s Justice League not only confirmed the theory that he was truly vicious in taking Robin’s life, but that Batman had indirectly led to this happening.
This was shown in the exchange between the Joker and Batman where the former taunted him why he had sent the Boy Wonder after him when he should have expected Joker would have killed him. It adds another layer to Batman’s gritty nature in Dawn of Justice for openly using lethal means against his enemies.
There Is More Than One Alternate Future
Batman v Superman established the Knightmare future to be a possible reality, but this movie revealed that this might not be so clear-cut. The Joker explained that there wasn’t just one future that was possible, but many more.
He claimed that there several are alternate timelines that could be in place, and that Batman was well aware of this fact. It means that the Knightmare future shown in Dawn of Justice might not be the same one that was seen at the end of Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
The DCEU's Timeline Doesn't Align If The Snyder Cut Is Canon
Although most fans consider Zack Snyder’s Justice League to be canonical compared to the original release, the movie has contradicted the rest of the DCEU. This has been confirmed due to Lois Lane being pregnant, as the story was positioned only a month after Batman v Superman.
However, Suicide Squad was set a year after Superman’s death, which isn’t possible if the Snyder cut is considered canonical. Along with that, Wonder Woman had also established its present-day events to be set a significant time after Dawn of Justice. This means the movie will need to exist as its own entity unless the DCEU decides to ignore continuity altogether.