A botched attempt, opposing styles, creative differences, and almost three years later, we get to see the first teaser of the Snyder Cut.
Once buried, Zack Snyder’s universe of a muted color palette and gloomy superheroes got a fresh breath of life.
Massive online petitions followed by the stars of Justice League (2017) fuelling the fire of #ReleaseTheSynderCut led to HBO Max riding the hype train.
Despite getting average reviews for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, its brilliant cinematography, intense fight choreography, vivid biblical imagery, and a palpable sense of the macabre was well-received by a lot of fans.
With HBO Max on board to produce the near finished Snyder Cut, fans will finally get to see much more detailed and fleshed out versions of the characters. From Cyborg to a not-so-murderous-anymore Batman, Snyder Cut should be able to tie up a lot of loose ends left in Justice League.
If marking the return of Ben Affleck’s Batman was not a reason to celebrate, the latest teaser released by Zack Snyder should open the can of worms.
The Snyder Cut differs from the Justice League in many ways. A marked tonal difference from Joss Whedon’s amiable banter to a detailed back-story about Cyborg, who is supposed to be the heart of the movie, as stated by Zack himself. But, the major difference which has made the fans excited is the first appearance of Darkseid on the silver screen.
Teased in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Darkseid is the supreme monarch of the planet Apokolips. Wielding the fabled Omega Force, his wish to subjugate the entire universe to his will through the Anti-Life Equation.
Being a New God, Darkseid is one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe. As a major foe of Superman, the arrival of Darkseid on the silver screen can be the answer to Marvel Cinematic Universe’ Thanos.
In the teaser, Zack Snyder has purposefully focused the entire 30-odd seconds on a mural and Diana aka Wonder Woman looking at it, with fear in her eyes. What does it indicate? More importantly, why Wonder Woman, the most fearless of all heroes looks afraid?
To answer this question, we might have to go back in time. A time when Darkseid invaded the secret island of Themyscira. With the malicious intent to defeat the Gods of Olympus and wield their power, Darkseid approached the Amazonians in his pursuit. Refusing to aid, the Amazonians fought valiantly against Darkseid and his hordes of Parademons.
Darkseid’s army slaughtered half of the Amazonians, with the other half turning into stone. As the Olympian deities left the island of Themyscira during the onslaught, the surviving Amazonians turned to stone.
This leads to two speculations which can explain the fear in Diana’s eyes as she looks at the mural of Darkseid.
The first one being, Darkseid invaded Themyscira before Diana was born. As a result, it is possible that the horrors of the onslaught were passed on as stories the future generations of the Amazonians. Also, it is quite plausible that both Queen Hippolyta and her sister General Antiope fought against Darkseid and survived to live the tale.
The second theory goes a mile ahead and establishes that Diana is not facing Darkseid for the first time. In the comics, during the onslaught caused by Darkseid and his Parademons, Diana placed a part of her own soul inside Darkseid. As a result, it forced Darkseid to lose some of his powers as he lost his dark edge.
Wonder Woman is a demi-god herself, who defeated the God of War, Ares in the first Wonder Woman movie. Despite being bestowed with the powers of Zeus, Wonder Woman had to bring in the Man of Steel to defeat Steppenwolf in Joss Whedon’s Justice League. If it took the entire might of the Justice League to bring down Darkseid’s commander, the future surely seems bleak for our heroes.
In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Bruce Wayne had a vision of an apocalyptic future with a huge Omega symbol drawn on the ground. Described as the Knightmare scene, Barry Allen aka The Flash time travels to warn Bruce about the impending doom. An enraged Superman commanding his own army of henchmen with his insignia embroidered on their clothes capture Batman. Before Superman lands the final blow, Bruce Wayne wakes up from his dream only to find a time-travelling Flash asking him if he is ‘too soon’.
Hence arises the final theory which might explain the fear in Diana’s eyes. What if The Flash also warned Diana about the barren, apocalyptic future?
It was also hinted in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that Wonder Woman has fought monsters from ‘other’ worlds before. Is it another easter egg for Darkseid?
Set to release next year, the Snyder Cut might not be able to answer all our questions. Even, it might fail to live up to our expectations too. But then, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
Before Robert Pattinson dons the costume of the Caped Crusader, let’s revisit Bat-fleck for one last time before he hangs up his suit.
