The end of Zack Snyder's Justice League flashes forward to the Knightmare future, and here's everything you need to know about the movie's post-apocalyptic epilogue. The Snyder Cut release gives fans a chance to see the third chapter in Zack Snyder's DC Extended Universe plans. Justice League's new cut comes three years after Warner Bros. and DC Films reshot most of the movie following Snyder's exit and delivered a disappointing edit of the film to theaters. Now, Zack Snyder's Justice League is an R-rated superhero movie epic spanning four hours that fully realizes Snyder's vision.
By and large, Zack Snyder's Justice League is an accessible story that follows the Justice League's formation for the first time. Batman and Wonder Woman recruit Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman to join them in defending Earth from Steppenwolf's attacks. They eventually decide that resurrecting Superman gives them the best chance to protect the planet. Once the Man of Steel is revived, he joins them in the final fight to stop the Unity of the Mother Boxes, which would pave the way for Darkseid and his Apokolips army to invade on a grand scale. Zack Snyder's Justice League's ending sees the Justice League successfully stop these attempts and teases more of a story that likely will never come.
Snyder split the Snyder Cut of Justice League into six chapters and an epilogue. The epilogue sets up the future of the DCEU in accordance with where Snyder would've taken it. This includes setup for Deathstroke being The Batman's villain, Wonder Woman potentially going back to Themyscira, Lex Luthor developing a new scheme, Superman being an active hero once more, the emergence of Martian Manhunter, and much more. The majority of the epilogue is spent in a possible future for the DCEU, commonly referred to as the Knightmare timeline. The post-apocalyptic Earth was set to be a major part of Snyder's plans in future Justice League sequels that now might never happen.
Justice League's Knightmare Future Explained
Snyder first introduced the idea of the Knightmare future timeline in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The scorched-looking Earth is the aftermath of Darkseid's invasion of the planet. While Zack Snyder's Justice League showed a young Darkseid, known as Uxas, fail to conquer Earth thousands of years ago, the future of the DCEU would see Apokolips' ruler win upon his return. Bruce Wayne saw a glimpse of the timeline when Flash went back in time from that future to warn Batman about what would come in Batman v Superman. At the time, Batman was shown in the Knightmare future fighting Parademons and trying to source more Kryptonite to fight back: Superman is evil in the Knightmare future and fighting for Darkseid.
The epilogue of Zack Snyder's Justice League takes viewers and the DCEU back to the Knightmare future. It was the second glimpse of the timeline that Snyder included in the four-hour Snyder Cut. Batman is shown to be leading the resistance against Darkseid's forces. Parademons and Superman hunt them as Darkseid's forces continue to lay waste to Earth. This future exists in a time when Darkseid's invasion has already greatly weakened Earth's defenses. Cyborg sees the Knightmare future while connected to the Kryptonian ship during Superman's resurrection. This vision of the future showed Wonder Woman's funeral in Themyscira, Darkseid attacking Atlantis and killing Aquaman, and once again confirmed the destruction of the Hall of Justice - which had weapons from the heroes and the deceased Green Lantern Kilowog in its rubble. The Snyder Cut's epilogue plays like a Bruce Wayne nightmare and ends just as Superman finds Batman and his new team.
Batman's New Team In The Knightmare
Due to the casualties caused by Darkseid's invasion, Knightmare Batman is forced to assemble a new type of team to be part of the resistance. Batman is the team leader, but he isn't the only original member of the Justice League who is still around and fighting for good. Cyborg is part of the team and is shown to always have a giant gun with him to give the new team some extra firepower. Flash is also still alive and part of the roster. His suit has evolved to match the armored look future Flash has in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Both Cyborg and Flash have key roles in Snyder's grand plan for how Batman's resistance can help save the world – but more on that later.
There are three new members of Batman's Knightmare team. The only other hero who is part of the team who wasn't before is Mera. She joins forces with Batman after Darkseid killed Aquaman and wants to take down Darkseid to get revenge. Mera is confirmed to be in love with Aquaman at this time, which could make her the Queen of Atlantis depending on how far the relationship developed before Darkseid attacked. Mera carries two containers filled with water to use her hydrokinesis powers to alter the state of the water. Mera also has one of Aquaman's tridents with her and appears to have a gun attached to her back as well.
Deathstroke is also revealed to be working with his former enemy Batman in the Knightmare. Despite Zack Snyder's Justice League including setup for Deathstroke to destroy Batman's life after learning of his true identity, the enemies have put their differences aside in the Knightmare future. He sports a brand new look with an all-black armor design and a mohawk. The top-tier assassin is as ready as he can be to take on Superman with a gun loaded with Kryptonite bullets.
The other villain who has joined forces with Batman in the Knightmare future is Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime looks very different from his last appearance in Suicide Squad, with no visible tattoos and long, dark green hair. Joker carries a gun to protect himself and wears a bullet-proof vest that has badges of cops he's presumably killed attached to it. The alliance between Joker and Batman is uneasy, to say the least. Joker taunts Batman with the long list of people he's lost and questions why he can't sacrifice his own life for the greater good, but Batman says that he promised a dying Harley Quinn that he'd kill Joker slowly.
Why Superman Is Evil
The Knightmare future is so dangerous for Batman and his team due to evil Superman. Zack Snyder's Justice League further teases why Superman turns against the heroes and fights for Darkseid. This is due to the death of Lois Lane and the Anti-Life Equation. Snyder planned for Superman to fight Darkseid mostly on his own in a future film, instructing Batman to keep Lois Lane safe in the Batcave. However, Batman failed to do this job, and Darkseid killed the woman Superman loved, who was potentially pregnant with his child. Superman losing Lois allows Darkseid to use the Anti-Life Equation on him and bring a hopeless and broken hero to the dark side.
Since Superman is under the influence of the Anti-Life Equation, he has no free will and will do whatever Darkseid commands. But with Batman being responsible for the death of Lois Lane in some fashion, Superman is determined to get revenge and kill Bruce. This is further teased in Zack Snyder's Justice League's epilogue with Joker telling Batman that he could've stopped this from happening if he sacrificed his life to save Lois'. This is why Flash previously warned Batman that Lois is the key because Superman turns evil without her around.
What Came Next In The Knightmare Future
The Knightmare future was meant to play a much larger role in the sequels to Zack Snyder's Justice League. His original plan for the DCEU saw the Knightmare serve as the main setting of Justice League 3, but the director recently revealed a different plan. If Justice League 2 ever happened, it would be set entirely within the Knightmare timeline. This would've seen Batman's resistance battle to try and stop Darkseid's reign from ever happening by using time travel.
The main story of Justice League 2 would revolve around a mission to power the Cosmic Treadmill built by Cyborg and Batman that enables Flash to run faster than ever before and go back to a time before Darkseid's invasion. The only way for the Cosmic Treadmill to have enough power to pull this off was by acquiring a Mother Box. Joker managed to discover the location of the Mother Box in Darkseid's possession and would help the team steal it. Batman's team would successfully obtain the Mother Box, but it ensured Superman would be hot on their trail. Snyder's original plans saw Superman kill all of the survivors but not before Flash successfully went back in time to give Batman a new warning. The message changes Bruce's actions in the past and ensures that Darkseid isn't victorious in taking over Earth as Batman sacrificed himself to save Lois.
One other key component of the Knightmare future confirmed by Zack Snyder would have Hal Jordan's Green Lantern appear. He was set to crash on Earth on a mission to find his partner, who Hal believed to be dead due to Darkseid's invasion. Hal Jordan would've fought alongside the Justice League in the Knightmare and helped them steal the Mother Box. He would also die at Superman's hand after the Man of Steel destroyed his power ring.
Related: How Snyder's DCEU Already Teased Green Lantern's Introduction
What Zack Snyder's Justice League Epilogue Means
The Knightmare future is ultimately a reminder for audiences and Batman of the horror that could potentially await them. While that future might be filled with fear and uncertainty, there is also somewhat of a hopeful meaning to the Knightmare. All of the main characters have lost something or someone due to Darkseid's invasion and they are fighting for a second chance. That is oddly fitting for Zack Snyder's Justice League at the end of the day. Fans spent three years calling for the Snyder Cut's release after seeing how WB and DC changed Justice League following Snyder's departure from the film. Now that the Snyder Cut has been released, many hope that the fight will continue to restore the Snyder-Verse and the story they love.
