Over the course of the last year, we have talked at great length about the changes that took place on Justice League when Zack Snyder stepped down and Joss Whedon stepped in to take over. Certain scenes were changed, while others were omitted entirely. On that note, we have officially learned that Snyder didn't even know about the subplot involving the Russian family living by the nuclear power plant. In response to a fan remark about the family, Snyder took to his Vero account to address the topic of the bizarre narrative thread and wrote:
Remember the Russian family? They appeared in Justice League's story when Steppenwolf and his Parademons arrived in Russian to unleash the power of the Mother Boxes. They showed up in several scenes throughout the film to provide periodic updates on Steppenwolf's scheme, and to offer up a few moments of comedic relief. Despite their consistent presence in the movie, Zack Snyder had no idea that they were there, which raises some obvious questions about how he missed them (though this could also further suggest that he hasn't seen the theatrical cut).
Upon first glance, that remark about the Russian family almost reads like a Justice League joke on Zack Snyder's part. However, the director doubled down on his stance with another Vero comment stating that he honestly didn't know what the Russian family was. Snyder wrote:
With that in mind, these revelations seemingly imply that Zack Snyder was not the director who shot the scenes involving the Russian family. That said, it's not necessarily surprising to learn. The scenes involving the unnamed family lean pretty hard on humor, and the jokes seem more in line with the type of tone that we would see from Joss Whedon's MCU movies like The Avengers or Avengers: Age of Ultron than anything seen in Man of Steel or Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In the effort to make a shorter and more lighthearted film once Whedon came onboard, it would make plenty of sense to see the Russian family added to the equation during Justice League's extensive reshoots.
So while it looks like Zack Snyder legitimately did not know about that plot point in Justice League, CinemaBlend will bring you any and all relevant updates related to the DCEU as new information is made available to us. On that note, watch out for James Wan's Aquaman when Arthur Curry's first solo adventure premieres later this year on December 21.
