Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a film eagerly anticipated by devotees of the DCEU, premiered on HBO Max in 2021. Snyder’s vision for the superhero team-up film was heavily altered during production, but the four-hour epic gave viewers a look at Snyder’s original concept. In the director’s cut, a thrilling Knightmare sequence showed a dystopian future in which Henry Cavill’s Superman has gone bad, and Batman must work with his enemies to save the world.
Zack Snyder DIscusses The Knightmare Scene
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The Joker is one of Batman’s unlikely allies, and many viewers were confused about why their favorite superhero would want to work with his archenemy. Zhenryack Snyder recently explained his reasoning for Batman’s alliance with the Joker in the film’s nightmare sequence, which had been one of the film’s biggest mysteries.
In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the post-apocalyptic future depicted in the Knightmare scene sees the world ruled by Darkseid and most superheroes dead or corrupted. Batman gathers a motley crew of heroes and villains to stop Henry Cavill’s Superman, who has gone insane over the death of Lois Lane, from bringing about this dystopian future.
Zack Snyder
The Joker appears briefly but significantly as one of these allies. At the SnyderCon 2023 panel for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Snyder explained why Batman would require the Joker’s assistance during the climactic Knightmare scene.
Our theory is that [the Joker is] the one who knows where the Kryptonite, what shards of Kryptonite exist. He has that information. And so he’s being carried… He has basically made a deal with Batman. ‘Don’t kill me, and I’ll show you. I’ll get you a tool to fight Superman.’ And so [Batman] is kind of stuck with him, in that way. If he kills him, or gets rid of him, then he’s screwed himself.”
The director claims that the Joker is the only person who knows the whereabouts of the Kryptonite shards that Batman needs to defeat Henry Cavill’s Superman. The Joker offers to help Batman find Kryptonite in exchange for the latter’s life. To eliminate the Joker would mean eliminating Batman’s only hope of defeating Superman.
The Knightmare Scene in DCEU
The Knightmare Scene
The Knightmare scene is pivotal to the DCEU because it depicts a possible future that the heroes can prevent by making the right decisions. It also establishes a plot that could be developed in sequels or spinoffs.
While Zack Snyder’s plans for the DCEU have been put on hold, fans are still pushing for more of his story to be told, with the release of the “Ayer Cut” of Suicide Squad being a particularly popular demand.
James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new heads of DC Studios, have thrown the DCEU into disarray. Snyder’s DCEU has an indefinite future, but some of the original cast members have plans to return. The Flash, starring Ben Affleck, will delve into the multiverse concept.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the last DCEU film approved before the Gunn-Safran takeover, will also feature Affleck. Jared Leto has no plans to reprise his role as the Joker in any upcoming DCEU films.
