Yesterday, Shazam! Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg refused to confirm or deny reports that Henry Cavill will return as Superman in the sequel. Now, though, Variety has revealed that "two sources with direct knowledge of the production" have told them that this cameo isn't happening.
This information also comes from those who have knowledge of Cavill's schedule, so it seems pretty definitive. This is a shame because the end of Shazam! certainly set the stage for a team-up between the two characters (though most fans were disappointed when a body double was used as the Man of Steel in those closing moments rather than the British actor).
Last May, Variety reported that there were plans for Cavill to return in a series of appearances in the DC Extended Universe, and that he'd signed up to for at least one cameo in an upcoming project. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like that's still the case.
According to the trade's sources, "Cavill may be returning as Superman at some point." That's not overly encouraging, and could signal an end to his tenure as this iconic DC Comics superhero. That's disappointing, but perhaps an indication that Warner Bros. is looking to move on from that Man of Steel-era of storytelling.
On the plus side, we will get to see Cavill return as Superman in Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Click on the "Next" button for a recap of everything
you need to know about those "Snyder Cut" reshoots!
10. How Much New Footage Will The #SnyderCut Have?
This is a question fans have been asking ever since word of additional reshoots leaked. The hope among fans was that Snyder would be able to wrap up the story he planned to tell in Justice League: Part 2 here, but there's no way he had time for that.
"I will say that in the end it’s going to probably be about four minutes or five minutes of additional photography for the entire movie," Snyder confirmed last year. "In the four hours that is Justice League, maybe four minutes." That's really not a lot, but perhaps enough to add some key, highly anticipated scenes.
A sequel remains unlikely, so we'll have to just accept the #SnyderCut for what it is.
If nothing else, at least Snyder has been able to include moments fans will appreciate, some of which we'll address throughout this feature.
9. Ben Affleck Was Part Of The Film's Reshoots
Ben Affleck struggled with personal issues during his time as Batman in the DCEU, and it's a role which clearly made the actor unhappy. The fact he's willing to don the cape and cowl again in The Flash is a surprise, but Snyder confirmed reports that Affleck also took part in the #SnyderCut reshoots.
"I think he forgot how uncomfortable it is, but that's fine," the filmmaker joked, referring to Affleck wearing the Batsuit again. "He was incredibly gracious and again it's funny how they just [snaps fingers]. A couple of the costumes, y'know, have been in archives for a while. They were all over the place, in museums and stuff, and we had to tear 'em out of there."
The addition of a classic comic book villain probably explains what Affleck primarily spent time shooting, and a recent photo shared on Vero showed the actor back in his Knightmare gear.
That's a setting it seems this version of Justice League will spent quite a bit of time exploring.
8. Zack Snyder Once Hoped To Release Justice League As A Two-Parter
No, not Justice League: Part 2! That film was announced at the same time as the first film, but given how expensive Snyder's projects tend to be, Warner Bros. chose to hold off on that until seeing how the first part performed (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a hit, but its profit margin suffered thanks to the budget).
With Justice League, it seems Snyder always planned to make a four-hour film, however, and actually had a pretty wacky suggestion for the studio.
"I did have this idea, 'Oh, maybe we could just split it in half and make it into two two-hour movies,'" the director explained. "My first idea was like, you showed two hours, and then there’s like, maybe a month, and then the next two hours come out. That was one of my ideas."
He was replaced by Joss Whedon before that conversation could take place, but this shows us just how much there will be to this lengthy epic.
7. Carla Gugino As Catwoman?
In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we met a Dark Knight who had spent decades protecting Gotham City. Snyder can touch on that history in his #SnyderCut, and he's even admitted that, in his mind, Batman has crossed paths with Catwoman.
"I would say Carla [Gugino] [as] Catwoman [is perfect]. You would have to say, there's a flashback to ten years ago, where they were a thing," Snyder suggested. "And then he had to arrest her, I don't know what happened, or he had to let her go, and it tweaked him."
"And now, who knows what she's doing now, she's running some sort of international antiquities or something, and he needs to retire, and they find each other," he added.
That was just Snyder thinking about what could happen, and not necessarily something he's shot for his director's cut. However, it would be a pretty neat surprise to see this reunion play out in the Knightmare scenes.
6. The Joker's New Look
Snyder has teased Joker's new look, but previously hinted at an overhauled look for the Clown Prince of Crime in another recent interview.
"I wanted to of course honor what had been created with him because I thought it was really cool," the filmmaker teased. "I'm not going to tell you what happens in the little scene, but some water has gone under the proverbial bridge between when last we saw Joker and this appearance. So he's made some...he's a road-weary Joker, I guess that's a way of saying it."
It sounds a lot like The Joker will be used in any additional Knightmare scenes, likely teaming up with Batman in a "needs must" scenario where they perhaps battle Superman and his Parademons.
As the image used at the top of this piece suggests, it seems the tattoos have thankfully been ditched.
5. The Joker's Cameo Wasn't In The Theatrical Cut
No, not that theatrical cut.
The Joker's being part of Justice League was something Snyder added specifically to the version of the film coming to HBO Max. Unlike cast members Ben Affleck, Amber Heard, and Ray Fisher (all of whom were likely needed to finish the filmmaker's vision), there were no plans for Jared Leto to appear in Zack Snyder's original theatrical cut.
"No, he wasn’t," the filmmaker said when asked whether The Joker was going to be in his original theatrical cut. "There was a few things that I had thought about doing that I had thought about grabbing in post. There was a number of things I had drawn – a couple of them, I wasn’t able to do, but it’s fine. I’m completely satisfied."
"But this was one of the things that in the years since I’ve kind of boiled on and kind of said, like, this would be a cool thing to do." This is exactly why some fans are annoyed that the #SnyderCut is something new, and not actually what the filmmaker intended to release in theaters almost four years ago.
4. A Robin Easter Egg (At The Very Least)
While it's doubtful Robin's demise at the hands of Joker will be part of the #SnyderCut, there is going to be a reference to the Boy Wonder.
"There's a Robin line like...there's a Robin Easter egg in Justice League. That, I think you'll have to wait and see. I can't say exactly." As for whether he'd like to make further use of Robin in the DCEU, Snyder added: "Would there be a plan to have more Robin? In whatever future story? There would be."
Reading between the lines, Joker is probably just going to reference what happened to Dick Grayson all those years ago, probably to taunt Batman when they cross paths in this desolate future.
Don't bank on those "Jared Leto's Joker used to be Robin!" theories panning out, though.
3. Why Zack Snyder Was On Board With An HBO Max Release
Warner Bros. didn't treat Snyder well, and there's clearly much more to that story than we've been made privy to.
As much as Snyder wanted to share his Justice League cut with the world, no one could blame Snyder for not wanting to be involved with the studio in any way after they had Whedon massacre his film. So, why come back and finish the #SnyderCut for their streaming platform, HBO Max?
"Toby Emmerich called me to say 'Hey, is this a thing you'd be interested in doing?' and I wasn't ready, but I thought about. One of the big things that got me to say 'all right' to this huge job, it's crazy, but it was that commitment I made to those actors, [so] let's finish this," he explained. "Let me put it back. Let me honor what we talked about creating you know?"
Snyder got his wish, and it's even being released as a film rather than a four-part miniseries.
2. Could Justice League 2 Become A Reality?
Snyder has one eye on the future, and high hopes for some sort of continuation of this story.
Snyder says he's spoken to voice actor Ray Porter about what comes next for Darkseid, and it seems the filmmaker is plotting...something.
"What happens when Darkseid comes to Earth? Then what? You know, Is that a thing? And I think, listen, the truth is that, did I write and did I have and conceive a complete...do I know what happens when Darkseid...yes. I do know what happens," he revealed. "To say and to speculate about what that is and that that would be exciting, I think that's a fine thing."
If the #SnyderCut sends subscription numbers for HBO Max through the roof, then a sequel of some sort might not be outside the real of possibility. Don't bank on it, though.
1. Zoom Was (Appropriately) Used For The Flash's Scenes
Much of what Snyder had planned for the Flash didn't make it into Whedon's cut, and it's likely this Justice League will address the concept of time-travel. If those Vero posts are any indication, Barry Allen travels to the past after the team is defeated by Steppenwolf and he attempts to set things right.
Snyder needed Ezra Miller for his reshoots, but that was complicated by the actor being in London working on Fantastic Beasts 3.
COVID means Snyder and Miller couldn't be in the same room at the same time, so a solution was found: Zoom. Snyder sent the crew of Fantastic Beasts 3 some sketches of what he needed Miller to do for these reshoots, and three monitors were then set up that the filmmaker could see through his computer (showing the set, Miller, and the camera).
Ingenious, eh?