Henry Cavil's time in the DC Extended Universe abruptly ended after his widely celebrated return as Superman in Black Adam. DC Studios decided they didn't want him to stick around as the Man of Steel, and David Corenswet was cast as his replacement.
Of course, had filmmaker Zack Snyder not been ousted from the DCEU before Justice League finished shooting, he'd have made at least two sequels to the 2017 movie.
GQ recently caught up with the director to discuss his career behind the camera. Snyder then elaborated on his decision to end Zack Snyder's Justice League with a glimpse into the future which revealed that Superman eventually falls under Darkseid's control.
We even returned to the DCEU's "Knightmare" timeline, with Batman leading a team of heroes and villains plotting to take the Man of Steel down.
"He was going to have to succumb to the Anti-life, be destroyed, turn the clock back, and then get his chance for this battle against Darkseid," Snyder says of his plans for Superman's redemption arc. "If you will...that would have finished his trilogy of becoming this guardian, and sort of, return him to his humanity."
For the most part, this isn't the direction DC fans wanted to see Superman head in on screen. In fact, while Joss Whedon's Justice League was widely criticised, his more hopeful take on the Man of Tomorrow earned positive reviews and was more in line with the comics.
Various details have been revealed about Snyder's Justice League sequels over the years, including how the trilogy ended. Batman would have died battling Darkseid, but Wonder Woman was going to become the new leader of Themyscira and negotiate peace the world over.
Aquaman was crowned the rightful ruler of Atlantis, and Cyborg evolved, becoming a God of the digital age and transforming himself to once again look human. During Superman's absence, Lois Lane became pregnant with Bruce Wayne's child; despite that, the Kryptonian vowed to become a father to the boy, giving him a reason to be Clark Kent again.
Twenty years later, a memorial service for Batman would see Commissioner Barbara Gordon ask Lois when she planned to tell her child the truth about his father. Surrounded by the League, Lois told her son that his dad was Batman.
Justice League 3 was then going to end in Gotham City with the emergence of a familiar figure. Yes, Bruce and Lois' son decided to take over the Batman mantle to protect his father's home and legacy.