JUSTICE LEAGUE: Cyborg Dies And Heggra's Role - Is This What Zack Snyder Originally Envisioned For The Film?
Up till now, we've had little bits and snippets of what Zack Snyder originally planned for Justice League and what Joss Whedon cut or re-purposed, but we might finally have some definitive answers....
Zack Snyder originally had an end credits stinger of the Green Lanterns Tomar-Re and Kilowog visiting Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne to warn of Darkseid's approach. Several scenes shown in trailers and TV Spots that were not included in the film. Scenes shown in these same trailers and TV Spots that have the same footage but different dialogue.
As reported by The Wrap a few days ago, between Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. execs, there were a lot of different chefs stirring the pot behind the scenes of Justice League's production. However, new info via Reddit and a live taping of Kevin Smith's Fatman on Batman podcast [skip to the 1:57:48 mark] seem to corroborate the Reddit AMA of a purported VFX technician that worked on Justice League. Along with interviews from the film's actors about scenes that were left on the cutting room floor (an audience member during the taping of Smith's podcast says she saw an early, audience test screening that matches up with what follows), we may have just enough clues to piece together a slightly different, longer film.
All the information mmentioned above syncs up in just the right places to provide a potential definitive look at what Zack Snyder originally intended as it seems there were several cuts of the film tested with different audiences before the final cut that was delivered to theaters for the film's November 17th release.
Steppenwolf's Ultimate Fate And His Motivation Revealed?
One of the 15 Pressing Questions That Needed Answering For The Future Of The DCEU centered on what happened to Steppenwolf at the end of the film. Well, an earlier post on CBM reported on Kevin Smith revealing that Steppenwolf's final boom tube at the end of Justice League placed him before Darkseid, who summarily killed him for his failure.
However, another question presented in the aforementioned article asked about Steppenwolf's motivation and reason for being on Earth. Well, we may have the answers. It seems the Mother Boxes actually contains the essence of Steppenwolf's mother, Heggra. With Darkseid and Steppenwolf swapping places in the uncle-nephew relationship they have in the comics, Heggra becomes Steppenwolf's mother instead of his sister in the DCEU.
It seems uniting the Mother Boxes to create the Unity allows for Steppenwolf to communicate with his dead mother and unleash a power strong enough to allow Steppenwolf to overthrow his uncle as ruler of Apokolips. That's apparently why Steppenwolf refers to the Mother Box as just simply "mother" in a few scenes.
Apparently his original, full line in the TV spot that first revealed his voice is, "No protectors here. No Lanterns. This world will fall. You will be free, mother."
The Flashback Scene To Steppenwolf's Battle Against The Greek Gods, Amazons, Atlanteans, Man And Green Lanterns Was Originally Longer
The scene featuring the Greek Pantheon, Amazons, Atlanteans, Man and even a Green Lantern (possibly 2) fighting against Steppenwolf and his Parademons was originally much longer and actually included dialogue. Robin Wright's Antiope was also set to be included in this extended scene. Wright's even credited as appearing in the film. It seems Whedon, either by his own choice or at the behest of one of the WB execs, cut this scene way down and transformed it into a wordless flashback that's narrated.
Cyborg's Accident Was Going To Be Shown?
The accident Ray Fisher's Cyborg mentions in Justice League that resulted in his father using the power of a Mother Box to save his life- it was originally going to be depicted on screen. That scene in the TV spot of Victor in human form was apparently him meeting up with his mother after a dominating performance on the field. Victor's angry becuase his father missed the game, which is apparently a regular occurance. On the ride home, while talking with his mom, Victor's anger gets the best of him and he loses control of the car, causing the fiery accident that claims his mother's life. Part of Victor's story in the film was going to be dealing with the fact that he survived the crash and his mother did not.
Karen Bryson was originally cast to play Cyborg's mother. Speaking to GameSpot, Fisher hinted at cut scenes featuring Cyborg's human days but never explicitly revealed specifics. "There were some things that you'll probably end up seeing later on, that didn't make it into this version of the film...There's a scene with Victor Stone, when he still was Victor Stone, and his mother, that was really special to shoot...You're shooting and testing, and when you're putting it together, you're seeing how cohesive you can make the story. Ultimately this is a team story, and, while there is some Cyborg material that we don't see here, I'm just happy that my teammates get to shine as well."
Aquaman's Time In Atlantis Was A Bit Longer
It's previously been confirmed that Aquaman's meet-up with Mera in Justice League was a bit longer and also included an appearance by Willem Dafoe's Vulko. However, what those additional scenes contained was Mera urging Aquaman to stay as she didn't trust Orm (aka Ocean Master) while Vulko counsels Arthur to do what he feels is right in his heart.
Momoa previously spoke on these deleted scenes to GameSpot, stating, "There's a place where [Aquaman] goes down to, and it got cut out of the movie. He knows spots where he can go and he can see these statues, the remnants of [Atlantis]. There's Vulko--obviously we'll have way more scenes with Vulko, Willem Dafoe--in [the 2018 standalone] Aquaman. There just wasn't enough time in this movie."
Momoa goes on to reveal that Vulko is his connection to Atlantis and that he grew up hearing tales from Vulko that he would be welcomed in Atlantis as the rightful king. When he finally goes there and is shunned as a half-breed, Aquaman eventually returned to the surface as Momoa states, "He hates Atlanteans, he cannot stand being on land. He just--he's stuck in the tide. That's what Zack wanted."
Justice League Was Going To Specifically Deal With Batman Killing Criminals In Dawn of Justice?
One of the biggest gripes fans had with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was the depiction of a Dark Knight who apparently had no qualms about killing criminals. Well, it seems Batman's conscience was originally going to weigh on him and serve as the primary motivation for his suicidal decision to use the Flying Fox as a battering ram and draw all of the Parademons away during the team's attack on Steppenwolf's base in the village outside of Chernobyl.
A big part of Batman's arc was going to be his belief that he could only find atonement for his actions by dying and Wonder Woman's attempt to dissuade him of that notion. That scene during the attack where Aquaman and Wonder Woman save Bruce was meant to be a cap on Batman finally accepting that he needs to atone by fighting, not dying for no true purpose.
Here's what was reported in a June 2016 Ben Affleck interview where he talks about Batman's arc in Justice Legue. "Yeah, in the last movie, Batman definitely went to a very dark place that was rooted in trauma that occurred to people that he loved and worked with and what he saw. This movie is not about that issue for him so much anymore, he’s no longer sort of extreme in that way.
From the experiences of the last movie, he’s sort of learned and now he’s sort of – I’m trying to say it without giving away any spoilers – but he’s wanting to redeem himself and wanting mankind to be redeemed and he’s wanting to make the world better. Having learned lessons that were important in the last movie."
A separate, September 2016 interview with Geoff Johns in The Wall Street Journal also stated that Justice League would address, "Batman’s extreme actions in the last movie, such as torturing criminals and nearly killing the man of steel, rather than accept them as par for the course."
Obviously, a lot changed between September 2016 and November 2017.
Batman's Nightmare In Dawn of Justice Was Going To Be Further Explained?
The nightmare Bruce Wayne had in the Batcave just before The Flash's arrival from the future was going to be explicitly referenced in Justice League. It seems the conclusion Batman reaches after learning about Steppenwolf's ability to convert the dead into Parademons was that Steppenwolf must have raised Superman from the dead in his apocalyptic glimpse of the future and that's why he fights for the side of Apokolips.
Batman's solution? He decides they need to raise Superman from the dead before Steppenwolf can, thus averting the nightmare future from ever coming to pass. That seems like severely-flawed logic but that was apparently Snyder's original idea for the team's motivation for resurrecting Supes.
Kevin Costner's Pa Kent Was Going To Be The Final Key To Returning Superman To Normal
Part of Superman's return to the Kent farm after being resurrected would have included another vision of Pa Kent, similar to the one he had in Dawn of Justice. Like that hallucination, Costner's Jonathan Kent would have dispensed valuable advice to his son, serving as the final push he needed to regain his sense of self and suit back up as the Man of Steel.
Superman Stops In The Batcave To Get His Suit From Alfred
Speaking of suiting back up as the Man of Steel, Clark makes a quick pit stop in the Batcave to pick up his costume from Alfred. That's the meeting that's taking place in the San Diego Comic-Con trailer where Alfred states, "He said you'd come. Now lets hope you're not too late."
Deathstroke Originally Shows Up In The Middle Of The Film And Breaks Lex Out Of Arkham
Lex Luthor's escape from Arkham was actually depicted in the middle of the film. Joe Manganello's Deathstroke busts him out and they split up and go there separate ways, with Slade drawing the GCPD away from Lex. They agree to meet-up at an undisclosed location once they're in the clear and it's this meeting that's used as the end credits stinger.
Hopefully this scene shows up in the blu-ray/DVD as there's a good chance there's some other, notable Arkham inmates that watch Slade's rampage through the prison.
Cyborg Dies Attempting To Separate The Mother Boxes
According to the report, Cyborg's initial attempt to separate the Mother Boxes results in him hearing Heggra's voice and him seeing the same nightmarish vision that Bruce glimpsed in Batman v Superman. While distracted by this, Steppenwolf grabs him and rips Cyborg in half instead of just tearing a leg off as he does in the film. Essentially dead, Batman has Victor's remains taken to the Batcave as he believes there may be a way to restart Cyborg's robotic side. How that ending would've played into Cyborg's solo film is anyone's guess, although it's possible seeds were being sown for Grid's emergence.
Film Ends With Lois Revealing Clark Is Superman To Perry White
Another one of the 15 Most Pressing Questions That Need Answering For The Future Of The DCEU was apparently going to be answered in Snyder's original vision for the film. It seems the film's final Superman scene wasn't going to show Clark walking the streets of Metropolis, he was going to be standing in Perry White's office where Lois introduces him as Clark Kent a.k.a Superman. The scene was to imply that Perry was going to be brought in to help explain why Clark was declared dead and then returned exactly at the same time that Superman did the same.