Why Warner Bros. almost cancelled Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Zack Snyder had a different encounter planned for Batman in his original Justice League vision but it unfortunately didn’t happen.
This stuff never gets old. The further removed we are from the debacle that was Justice League, the more news comes to the surface. Over the past few months, since Zack Snyder’s Justice League (a.k.a. The Snyder Cut) was released, we got all the tea. Snyder isn’t holding back when it comes to expressing Warner Bros’ unwillingness to budge. We all know the tale of Snyder’s departure and Joss Whedon as the man who completed the theatrical release.
Joss Whedon’s underwhelming Justice League resulted in fans demanding, and receiving, The Snyder Cut. The HBO Max four-hour event essentially gave fans Snyder’s true vision for the Justice League story. Snyder gave us a completed story, one with depth that allowed fans to become more invested in both the plot and the characters.
It also gifted fans with other characters that were omitted from the theatrical release, like Martian Manhunter. At the end of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, we saw Martian Manhunter approach Batman and offer a helping hand to the League in fighting an impending threat. However, Snyder wanted John Stewart to come face-to-face with Batman instead of Martian Manhunter.
Speaking to Tyrone Magnus on YouTube, he discussed how he felt Green Lantern should have been the hero Batman crossed paths with:
"“I just think the right end of this movie is John Stewart that’s the correct ending to happen. By the way, I don’t want to take anything away from Harry and away from Martian Manhunter because it’s cool. Seeing him early and then seeing him at the end, it’s cool. It kind of completes his story. But it was always my intent to have John Stewart [meet Batman].”"
Snyder fought hard for the hero, but WB threatened to cancel the film if he didn’t comply. Since he didn’t want to be the reason behind the cancellation, he obliged.
Why Green Lantern should have been allowed to appear in Justice League
It’s disappointing that WB didn’t understand the value they had with the concept of the Multiverse – one that they are seemingly relying on now. Since we didn’t get either Stewart or Martian Manhunter in the theatrical release, it’s hard to understand why it was such a big deal since Warner clearly didn’t consider the Snyder Cut canon to the DCEU.
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Fans haven’t completely abandoned ship because of their loyalty to the characters of DC Comics but this is just another example of how studio interference can affect a production – even a director’s cut. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a narrative that works and Marvel Studios does an outstanding job ensuring that each of their films are loyal to their own stories and the universe with an already-established continuity. Restricting directors while also not having a plan in place for the overall DCEU is hurting the product.
This writer will be the first to tell you that he’s not a massive fan of the idea of of restoring the Snyderverse and, at this point, I’d much rather see them retcon it. In fact, I made it clear on Random Rants all the things wrong with Snyder’s vision for his DCEU. Still, what Snyder had in mind here for Green Lantern was an excellent idea. And not just for hardcore DC Comics fans, but novice fans as well — an introduction of John Stewart. However, Warner Bros already had plans to develop a Green Lantern movie (and they have the upcoming HBO Max Green Lantern series) so it unfortunately didn’t happen.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is available to watch now on HBO Max.
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What do you think? Would have liked a John Stewart and Batman encounter in Zack Snyder’s Justice League? Let us know in the comments below!