On March 18, 2021, Zack Snyder's Justice League premiered on HBO Max. While it did little to sway the filmmaker's detractors, most DC fans seemed to agree that it was a huge improvement over Joss Whedon's 2017 theatrical cut.
Warner Bros. allowed Snyder to add new scenes to the movie, many of which set the stage for his unmade sequels. Then, there were the teases already in there from back when he was essentially in charge of the DC Extended Universe.
Four years later and over two years after DC Studios was formed to reboot the DCEU as the DCU, it's pretty obvious Snyder's Justice League sequels won't happen. It's hard to say why we've never got an animated or comic book follow-up, but in this feature, we're taking a closer look at the biggest unresolved plot threads and what, if anything, has been revealed about the filmmaker's intentions for them.
You can read our full breakdown by clicking on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
10. Lois Lane's Pregnancy
There were several hints throughout the movie that Lois Lane was pregnant with Superman's child, and that's since been confirmed as being the case by Snyder himself.
Needless to say, it's a big deal and likely something the filmmaker planned to explore in detail over the next two chapters in his Justice League trilogy. This revelation makes that shot of the Man of Steel cradling Lois' charred remains even more horrifying and better explains why the hero ultimately falls under the control of Darkseid.
While we could make some predictions about where this pregnancy would ultimately lead, we know thanks to Snyder that Superman's powerless son would have one day become the new Batman.
9. Darkseid's Mission
Steppenwolf is beaten by the League (badly!) as Darkseid watches on in the director's cut of Justice League, but now that he knows the Anti-Life Equation resides on Earth, nothing will stop him from trying to acquire it.
As the movie ends, he decides to rally the forces of Apokolips for another full-scale invasion of Earth, so it's clear now this battle against Steppenwolf and his Parademons was the tip of the iceberg. Ultimately, it looks like Darkseid would have been victorious, hence the existence of that Knightmare timeline.
However, there were quite a few nods to the Multiverse throughout the Snyder Cut, so we can't help but wonder if the filmmaker had ambitious plans to explore what that meant in his sequels as well.
8. Lex Luthor Reveals Batman's Identity
The 2017 version of Lex Luthor's meeting with Deathstroke saw Warner Bros. tease the formation of the Injustice League (a group Snyder planned to utilise in one of his sequels).
The original scene, however, was meant to lay the groundwork for Ben Affleck's The Batman. Looking for revenge after being locked up in Arkham Asylum, Lex tells Slade Wilson that Bruce Wayne is beneath the cowl. That certainly would have made Deathstroke's mission to take Batman out quite a bit more interesting and is something many fans were excited to see become a reality.
Affleck not only returned for Snyder's reshoots but also signed up to star in The Flash. Unfortunately, his time as the Dark Knight is well and truly over and we'll never get to see what he and Geoff Johns were cooking up.
7. Tapping Into The Speed Force
Joss Whedon's Barry Allen was a comedy doofus who couldn't break into a run without tripping over his own feet. This version, however, is taken on a very different journey in Snyder's Justice League.
After tapping into the Speed Force to reverse time and save the League, the Scarlet Speedster is far more confident when he's running through Central City than when we first met him. It's also worth noting that he was clearly able to more effectively tap into his extraordinary abilities. Those included time-travel, a game-changer for any comic book universe.
What Rick Famuyiwa had planned for this version of The Flash is unclear, but Andy Muschietti's delivered a weird mashup of tones from both versions of Justice League. The movie was a disappointment and didn't develop the hero's powers anywhere near as much as we'd have liked.
6. Clark Kent Returns
Clark Kent was reported to have died during Doomsday's attack, but it seems Kal-El has once again taken on that identity if the scene above is any indication. We saw this in 2017, of course, but the colour of the suit has changed as Snyder decided the Man of Steel would continue to wear the black costume.
That's noteworthy, and Superman could be seen wearing that outfit while cradling Lois' charred remains. However, it appears falling under Darkseid's control is what leads to the red and blue suit's return.
What we don't know is how Clark was able to be resurrected without compromising his secret identity as Superman, though it has, of course, been revealed that Snyder planned to explore the hero's struggles with getting back in touch with his human side in those planned sequels. So, while this seems like a cool, throwaway moment, there was clearly still more story left to be told.
5. Last Heroes Standing
Cyborg's vision gives us an idea of what happens after Zack Snyder's Justice League, but the Knightmare scene right at the end of the movie also left fans with a long list of unanswered questions.
Clearly, Batman needs The Joker's help to find something which will help send the Flash back in time to save Lois Lane and make things right, but it was Bruce's inaction that seemingly caused her demise (something The Joker points out with great delight in a standout scene) in the first place.
Deathstroke, Mera, and Cyborg are all on hand to help, but things go badly wrong when Superman arrives. It's unclear whether this takes place before or after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's Knightmare scene, but we can safely assume that not everyone makes it out of this confrontation alive. Unfortunately, it remains impossible to make sense of any of this without Snyder's sequels.
4. Cyborg's Power Upgrade
Cyborg's arc in Zack Snyder's Justice League is easily the most interesting, and while he loses his father, the hero does ultimately accept his new status quo and moves past his grief and anger.
The original plan was for Victor Stone to factor heavily into The Flash movie, something which didn't happen for a long list of reasons. He was also supposed to star in his own solo outing, but we can't imagine there's any sort of future for Ray Fisher's Cyborg in he DCU following his very public clashes with Warner Bros. brass.
It's exciting to think about where this powered-up Cyborg could go next, and we've heard rumblings Snyder envisioned his story ending with Victor mastering his powers to the extent he could once again appear human.
3. Wonder Woman Returns Home
Wonder Woman 1984 didn't resonate with a lot of fans and with Wonder Woman scrapped after the DCU reboot, we never did get a solo adventure set in the present day. Regardless, Snyder appeared to be teasing something different for his take on the character at the end of Justice League.
As Wonder Woman looks out mournfully into the distance, it's clear she's thinking about Themyscira. We know from that glimpse into the future that she's ultimately reunited with her mother, albeit as Darkseid burns her body in front of her fellow Amazons.
Snyder once hoped to use Doctor Poison to wipe out Themyscira after Diana returned home, but it seems Darkseid kills her instead if this sequence - which was added along with the Knightmare scene - is any indication. The filmmaker made a lot of changes during reshoots so Wonder Woman's place in the sequels remains a tad confusing.
2. Hall Of Justice
Bruce Wayne decided to convert Wayne Manor into the Hall of Justice in the theatrical cut as well, but it feels a little more meaningful here (especially as it shows Batman further stepping out of the shadows).
Thanks to a glimpse into the future, we know that the Dark Knight is ultimately successful in creating this base of operations for the team, but courtesy of the mind-controlled Superman, it seems that doesn't last long. He's shown at one point hovering over the remains of the Hall of Justice with a dead Kilowog at his feet and Batman's cowl in hand. It's a striking, memorable piece of imagery.
Unfortunately, this is another glimpse into the future from a story Snyder is unlikely to ever tell. A full breakdown of his sequel plans contradicts much of what made it into this cut, though it's clear these teases were included in a bid to force Warner Bros.' hand.
1. Martian Manhunter's Message
Zack Snyder's plan was for this meeting to feature the John Stewart version of Green Lantern. However, due to plans for a since-scrapped Green Lantern TV series, Warner Bros. asked that he not use the cosmic Corpsman (which sucks, but makes sense, especially as it would have overshadowed whoever they planned to cast in the role at the time).
Martian Manhunter isn't a bad substitute, though, and it's clear he was meant to help the League. That could go some way in making sure that desolate future doesn't come to pass, and the hero would likely be key in the battle against Darkseid.
It was a brief, albeit very interesting conversation between him and Batman. Plus, as Martian Manhunter didn't seemingly factor into Snyder's original plans, it would have been fascinating to see how a sequel made use of both him and perhaps non-human Green Lanterns.