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The Justice League’s Original Script Could Have Saved the Movie  

While the release of the Justice League was a dream come true for many hardcore DC fans, but it has not been able to live up the hype and its original mythos. The movie underperformed both in the realms of critical review and box-office collections. After the personal tragedy which befell on Zack Snyder, the throne was passed on to director Joss Whedon (Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron).

But repeated studio interferences and corporate greed butchered the original vision of Snyder and also didn’t leave much room for Whedon to pursue his creativity. While a lot of rumors regarding the original script couldn’t please all the fans, but it was universally accepted that it was way better than the crammed up storyline which had to follow the ridiculous 2-hour mandate.

Zack Snyder’s original script was not just a darker or a lengthier version, it actually delved into the exciting DC Universe which the fans have been craving for. From the appearance of Darkseid to the Green Lanterns, the original script had everything which can be described as a DC fan’s wet dream.

The original script was not a sure-shot recipe for success, but it was ambitious and had a lot of fan service which might have delivered the box-office success Justice League truly deserves. With the rushed script facing maximum fire from the critics and the fans, a lot of demand has been spiking for the original vision of Snyder.

Recently, director Kevin Smith, a longtime comic book aficionado re-ignited the interest for the original script by praising the presence of a corporeal Darkseid in the movie. This point holds considerable weight because that’s what has been capitalized in the entire movie. And for a movie riddled with Parademons, Apokolips and Mother Boxes, an ending with the arrival of Darkseid would have been more coherent than the shoddily executed ending.

REMOVING DARKSEID FROM THE SCRIPT

With the stupid 2-hour mandate plaguing the Justice League, it was probably decided to remove Darkseid from the movie. Or maybe, was it to not take the Marvel way of introducing the big baddie? We never know, but what we surely know is that this decision proved quite expensive for the studio. By removing a major character, you also remove a significant scene which might have been coherent to the movie.

Going back to the Knightmare scene from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the importance of Darkseid in Justice League gains some momentum. In the scene, Batman stands on a scorched earth, filled with parademons, while looking up to the sky in search of the ruler of Apokolips.

But the most important part of the vision was an evil Superman, who was probably mind controlled by Darkseid. The vision was a warning for Batman to unite the heroes to stop the dream from becoming a reality. But apparently, the studio deemed it correct to throw it straight out of the window.

But how does this affects the movie on a huge scale? Well, it makes Steppenwolf a dumb villain who just wants to destroy Earth without any strong motive.

NO BACKSTORY FOR THE MOTHER BOXES

The ancient mother boxes guarded by humans, Atlanteans, and the Amazonians, are a source of great power which can destroy planets. But did the movie invest some time in explaining them? You wish. From the very first scene, the studio decided to throw away logic behind the mother boxes. Instead, the filmmakers decided to go with the dumb way of drawing three mother boxes whenever a parademon died, or as a mural on a wall where Bruce Wayne tried to recruit Arthur Curry/Aquaman. This is just lazy writing at best.

According to the original script, the mother boxes actually contain Steppenwolf’s mother Heggra. The communion of the three boxes would grant Heggra her true power, which in turn could have been used by Steppenwolf to conquer Earth and end his exile from Apokolips. But after the arrival of Superman and Steppenwolf’s subsequent defeat, he goes back to Apokolips to either get punished/killed by Darkseid himself. Then, Darkseid takes further interest in the Kryptonian present on the Earth and hence starts the true invasion.

NO GREEN LANTERNS IN THE MOVIE

Justice League

The most obvious omission would be the lack of Green Lanterns in the movie when an invasion of this scale is taking place. As the protectors of the entire universe, there should have been at least one Lantern present alongside the League to fight Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons.

justice league

According to the original script, the Green Lanterns were a part of the movie, but in the cameo instead of a full-fledged scene. In the cameo, Bruce Wayne wakes up at night (an off day for The Dark Knight) to get a visit from two Green Lanterns, Kilowog, and Tomar-Re. But sadly, the Lanterns never saw the light of the day (sorry for the pun).

The Justice League movie has a strong ensemble cast including Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), Wonder-woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Mamoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). The movie is directed by Zack Snyder and written by Chris Terrio based on the characters of DC comics. The story of Justice League will follow the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and mark the Phase 1 of DC Cinematic Universe. The movie will assemble the greatest DC superheroes under one roof against a terrifying adversary Steppenwolf.

At the end of the Batman v Superman, the Man of Steel was dead, while Batman and Wonder Woman had begun to assemble the Justice League, an elite team of superheroes to fight a supervillain Steppenwolf who has been awakened in the wake of events. The Steppenwolf is basically the military general of Darkseid who have sent parademons to interrogate/kidnap Batman and Earth’s scientists to retrieve Apokoliptian Motherbox which is the most powerful object in the realm.

Initially, the center of attention was Ben Affleck’s Batman as he is responsible for putting together an elite team of superheroes to protect the planet from the ultimate destruction. This was also reflected in the first line of the old synopsis.

Here’s the synopsis of JL:

“In Justice League, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of meta-humans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions”.

But in the new synopsis, the role of Wonder Woman was shown to be prime. Here’s the new official synopsis:

“Once again, Wonder Woman must demonstrate her ability as a fierce warrior. Facing a great enemy, she and Batman join forces to recruit a group of meta-humans to stand against this newly awakened threat. Having formed an unprecedented League of heroes, they set out to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.”

We demand the original Snyder cut from the studio and we shall not rest until then.

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