Snyder’s Justice League Trailer Breakdown:
Zack Snyder’s Justice League has been getting its due appreciation and excitement even before the official announcement of the release date. No one is able to stay calm about the intensity of this particular project and are eagerly looking forward to it. And now, we have the new trailer. Check it out below:
Opening Scene, Superman Is Dead
The trailer’s very first shot is also from the beginning of the movie, revisiting Superman’s death from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in the same way Batman v Superman revisited Metropolis battle from Man of Steel from Bruce Wayne’s perspective. This shot is paired with an edit of Lex Luthor’s Batman v Superman monologue saying “The bell’s… been rung… Out in the dark, among the stars.
The god is dead.” In the shot of Superman, we see the literal waves created by his death scream going out across the world, activating the dormant Mother Boxes, triggering the eventual invasion by Steppenwolf.
Knightmare Joker Lives In A Society
Zack Snyder and Jared Leto’s Joker embraces the meme head-on in the character’s reveal, where we hear Leto say the highly memed “we live in a society” before we even see his face. Leto’s Joker is one of the things added in the 4-5 minutes of additional photography Snyder conducted in October 2020 (as opposed to the 3 1/2 hours of unseen footage he shot in 2016) and is also one of the movie’s most exciting factors.
Joker’s full line is “we live in a society where honor is a distant memory. Isn’t that right, Batman?” Considering this is a confrontation between Batman and Joker in the Knightmare future where the Dark Knight might even be teaming up with the Clown Prince of Crime, a future where Batman carries a gun, Joker’s line is surely taking a dig at Batman’s change in principles following the collapse of society.
The Flash Time Travels To Reverse And Explosion
During the final battle, The Flash is expected to channel the Speed Force to turn back time, and we see that represented with a massive explosion.
As Flash runs toward the explosion, we can see the ground re-assembling itself in front of him as the explosion ahead slowly recedes, with plenty of Zack Snyder slow-motion effects thrown in for good measure.
Cyborg Is The Hear Of The Movie
Zack Snyder has said multiple times since even before he originally left the project in 2017 that Ray Fisher’s Cyborg/Victor Stone is the heart of the movie.
Ray Fisher has also revealed the only Cyborg scenes in the 2017 film that weren’t originally shot by Snyder was part of the Gotham Police rooftop scene, so we can expect a massively new focus on Cyborg.
Superman Was Sent To Earth For A Reason
Jonathan Kent’s message to Superman from Man of Steel, saying “you were sent for a reason, and even if it takes you the rest of your life, find out what that reason is” makes a notable appearance as Superman takes a pose calling back to his “first flight” in Man of Steel. The urge for him to take “the rest of his life” to figure it out is especially notable considering he’s dead when the movie starts.
He tells Lois Lane she’s “his world” in Batman v Superman (and we notably see a shot of her when Jonathan Kent says “find out what that reason is), but in the BvS Knightmare, he tells Batman “she was my world, and you took her from me,” meaning the Knightmare, the destruction of the whole, is what happens when Superman loses his purpose.
The Amazons Fight Back In The History Lesson
Audiences may have just gotten a taste of some Amazon action at the end of 2020 with Wonder Woman 1984, but the Snyder Cut is bringing even more. The Amazons play a key role in the massive history lesson battle against Darkseid and his parademons, but we also know they have a second major battle in Themyscira when Steppenwolf invades.
Considering audience sentiment following Wonder Woman 1984 indicated they wanted more Amazons and more Themyscira, the 4 hours long Zack Snyder’s Justice League should provide that and more.
Cyborg Interfaces With The Mother Boxes
Cyborg’s role is so much more important in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, specifically because the only way they can possibly win is because he has the ability to interface with the Mother Boxes to prevent them from destroying the world, and that ability comes from his enhanced cybernetics, which is a product of a Mother Box.
In this scene, he’s expected to actually go inside the Mother Box where we’ll see him tempted with visions of his family and a promise to be made whole again.
Barry Allen Saves Iris West
One of the earliest leaks following the theatrical cut was a few scenes with incomplete CGI, including this shot of Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen in his early days as The Flash saving Kiersey Clemons’ Iris West.
While the scene itself certainly isn’t new to anyone who’s been following the Snyder Cut for 3 years, seeing it with finished VFX in a major trailer is still a big moment.
If You Can’t Bring Down The Bull, Don’t Wave The Red Cape
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice writer Chris Terrio used a lot of creative wordplays, especially with Lex Luthor and Alfred, and this makes a big appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League trailer when Alfred says “If you can’t bring down the charging bull, you don’t wave the red cape at it,” which not only works as a standalone metaphor but also serve as a warning about bringing back Superman (the red cape) to take on Steppenwolf (the bull).
Cyborg Gets More Weapons In The Knightmare
Despite getting teased in trailers and merchandise, Cyborg’s ability to manifest weapons or even additional arms wasn’t utilized in the theatrical cut.
Based on the post-apocalyptic destruction and gold hue of the background, this appears to be a Knightmare scene.
Batman Needs Warriors, Like Aquaman
Bruce Wayne goes on a hunt for more powerful individuals to form an “alliance” of warriors to defend the world from the attack he fears is coming. One of the first people he approaches is Arthur Curry, AKA the Aquaman.
This new shot of Aquaman is taken from his confrontation with Steppenwolf when the villain attempts to take the Atlantean Motherbox from Mera. We know there’s much more of the Atlanteans (but likely not Atlantis itself) in this version of the movie, including a Willen Dafoe’s Vulko and an explanation for how Aquaman gets his armor and trident.
Steppenwolf Promises “This World Will Fall”
Steppenwolf’s promise that “this world will fall” was present in the original marketing campaign, but since the line was a message from him to Darkseid, as we see in this newest trailer, it obviously got lost along with Darkseid. While Darkseid is a looming villain, Steppenwolf is ultimately the immediate threat to the world.
This extra backstory (and new (original) character design immediately gives Steppenwolf more weight as a character and establishes some motivation, which was entirely absent in 2017.
Steppenwolf Decimates The Amazons On Themyscira
While the scene of Steppenwolf invading Themyscira and stealing the Mother Box is in Joss Whedon’s 2017 theatrical cut, the changes are abundantly obvious. Steppenwolf’s improved design and the brutality of the electro-ax make him a menacing force.
The brief black and white clip Snyder previously shared of this scene shows it will certainly be more violent, including some 300-esque blood spurts, which is likely partly responsible for the movie’s R rating.
There’s An Attack Coming From Far Away, But It Already Happened Once
Wonder Woman’s connection to all these events is far more significant than it was in the 2017 Joss Whedon version of the movie. In Whedon’s release, Wonder Woman saw Hippolyta’s arrow on TV and that was it.
However, in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, it actually takes her to a shrine of the Amazons where she discovers a mural telling the story of the last time Darkseid tried to invade.
Darkseid And The Forcese Of Apokolips
Darkseid is coming. It’s been known for years that Darkseid had a role in Snyder’s original Justice League vision, but the extent of that role has only become more significant with time. Once thought to be a simple tease of a villain to come, it’s clear now he has a looming presence, possibly akin to Sauron in Lord of the Rings, only even more significant as he’s actually personified and given proper dialogue (voiced by Ray Porter, which we have yet to hear).
Not only is Darkseid in the movie, but he’s flanked by other New Gods of Apokolips, his mater torturer DeSaad, and the leader of Darkseid’s Elites and Furies, Granny Goddess. This brings the massive Fourth World of Jack Kirby to the big screen in a big way. Also, it should be noted this movie was supposed to come out around five months before Avengers: Infinity War, which introduced the Darkseid inspired Thanos.
Batman’s Knightmare Dream About The End Of The World
The trailer moves from Lex Luthor to Bruce Wayne, saying “I had a dream… almost like a premonition,” with new footage of Batman in his trenchcoat from the Knightmare future first glimpsed in Batman v Superman. The Knightmare world was one of the biggest things cut from Zack Snyder’s original vision for Justice League and was a major part of his overall Justice League plan, so expect this part of the story to play a major influence on the movie.
The idea of the Knightmare is to show the consequences of the losses experienced by Superman and how he’s important not just as a physical hero to fight off bad guys, but also as a symbol of inspiration. If you lose that symbol or it’s twisted to nefarious means, as Jonathan Kent says in Man of Steel “Whoever that man is, good character or bad, it’s going to change the world.”
Hippolyta And Themyscira
While she didn’t have much presence in the 2017 version, Connie Nielson’s Hippolyta has a more substantial role in the Snyder Cut, but in the history lesson as well as on Themyscira.
When she’s first revealed, she’s standing on the edge of a cliff as the building that housed the Amazon Mother Box tumbles into the ocean, likely following the Amazon battle with Steppenwolf where he steals the Box and escapes.
Batman Has A War Machine
Fans of Frank Miller’s classic Dark Knight Returns, which largely inspired Ben Affleck’s take on Batman, should be more than thrilled at the tease of the tank-like Batmobile known as the War Machine, seemingly ripped straight out of the pages of the comics. The most fascinating part of this shot is it doesn’t fit at any clear point in the movie. There’s destruction all around and what appears to be Apokaliptian structures in the background, which would imply it’s the third act battle in Russia, but Batman’s suit doesn’t look like the tactical suit from that scene.
The only other clear possibility is the Knightmare, where the over-the-top War Machine seems as it would feel right at home, however, Batman also isn’t wearing his Knightmare trenchcoat. While a lot of details about this movie are already known, the fact that there are still massive surprises like this in-store should have audiences excited for what’s buried in the full four-hours of the final product.
The “Snyder Cut” was widely considered an internet myth for nearly three years (despite clear evidence of its existence) until it was finally confirmed for release on HBO Max in May 2020. Snyder completed 100% of principal photography in 2016 along with several months of post-production, including a significant amount of VFX, but there was still work to be done on his version since the Whedon written and directed reshoots took the movie in a massively different direction, abandoning most of what Snyder was building toward.
The Snyder Cut is arriving on March 18th, and it’s fair to say it’s the most massive DC movie ever made.
