When it comes to his take on Justice League, Zack Snyder remains a leaky faucet whose consistent "drip, drip, drip" keeps pleasing DC fans while simultaneously driving them nuts about what could have been. Snyder routinely uses his Vero social media account to share details about his famed #SnyderCut of the superhero team up. This, however, is his biggest reveal yet. Behold: Darkseid!
This is no secret that Zack Snyder was building to Darkseid, a classic Justice League villain, to be the ultimate antagonist for the heroes in his DC ensemble. But after unleashing Doomsday in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Snyder made the decision to start with Steppenwolf, and lead to Darkseid.
The quote that he includes in his Vero post (via TalkiesNetwork), about a bell being unrung, is a direct reference to Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) at the end of Dawn of Justice, warning Batman (Ben Affleck) that bigger threats exist in the universe, and once they knew that Superman (Henry Cavill) had been killed, they'd be coming.
Remember this?
That's not the only Darkseid hint in Zack Snyder's team up movie. Obviously there was a complete "Knightmare" sequence there Batman confronted numerous agents of both Darkseid and Steppenwolf, which Snyder has been saying was a long-term tease for the arrival of the villain.
One could make the argument that Darkseid is very similar to Thanos, a mega-villain Marvel Studios finally brought to the big screen in Avengers: Infinity War. Darkseid lords over the planet of Apokolips. His ultimate goal is complete dominance over the entire universe. He doesn't seek to eliminate half of the universe, for balance. But it's the same basic gist.
Now, what is Zack Snyder doing here? Yes, he's maintaining interest in his overall vision for the DCEU. But while he (and a large, vocal contingent of fans) are keeping that flame of interest alive, Warner Bros and the DC universe have moved on. Joss Whedon stepped in and directed Justice League, changing the tone of the overall series.
And yet, there is a consistent call for the release of Zack Snyder's full cut of Justice League, because many fans believe that it's a better, darker interpretation of the material. And every time Snyder releases a new image like this, it fosters that rabid fandom, and makes it harder for DCEU fans to move on, too.
We may never see the mystical "Snyder Cut" of Justice League. But in a few weeks, you WILL be able to see the next chapter in the ongoing DCEU when James Wan drops Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa and Amber Heard, into theaters on Dec. 21. Think you will go see it? Or will you stay home and lobby for the #SnyderCut on social?
