While Warner Bros. wanted to launch a Cinematic Universe of its own, Zack Snyder clear had his own ideas for a self-contained story beginning with Man of Steel that would have seemingly ended with the team battling Darkseid in a post-apocalyptic setting. Little is known about how Justice League was set to play out before Joss Whedon came on board but we've heard that Superman was supposed to remain "evil" for most of the movie, with it later revealed that Darkseid was controlling the hero.
Now, that's seemingly been confirmed by storyboard artist Jay Oliva as he's revealed that we would have seen "Superman unhinged" in the final act rather than his return to take down Steppenwolf.
"I did from the time they arrived to the nuclear reactor all the way to the end of the fight. There’s a couple stuff that when I watched the film I was like, ‘What happened to that?’ I was really looking forward to seeing it because I’ve done some crazy stuff. I tried to top what I’ve done with Superman. When Superman comes back, I had done some really crazy stuff like Superman unhinged."
Unless Snyder one day decides to sit down and do a tell-all interview about his original plans for the DCEU (which seems highly unlikely), we'll probably never know what he had planned for Justice League and beyond. Do you wish his vision had become a reality? Share your thoughts in the usual place.