When the theatrical cut of “Justice League” was released, many Superman fans wondered why the Man of Steel never returned wearing a black version of his suit as made famous by the Death and Return of Superman stories from the comic books.
When Zack Snyder revealed in interviews that he had always planned on having Superman come back in a black and silver version of this costume had he continued on with the film, the director released images and footage of Henry Cavill wearing said costume.
In a recent interview with ComicBook Debate, Snyder added, “I really was always a very strong advocate for the black suit. I really wanted the black suit; it made sense for me because… Superman is a character notoriously who does not grow. He is like a rock and everything just smashes against him. And we learn about ourselves by trying to change a thing that’s unchangeable.”
Whether you agree that Superman is “notoriously” unchangeable or not, Snyder wanted to move away from “the old way, the old Superman.” He explained that his “Superman had to, at every step, sort of level up and learn something, and be something different. What I had planned was that the final step for Superman, [was] his real return, or his real coming into what I would consider the classic Superman.”
So, while Snyder acknowledges that he planned to bring back the “classic” Superman moving forward, had he been able to continue the story, he does admit that his cut of “Justice League” does not contain that version of our favorite superhero.
“We don’t really get it in this movie, the classic Superman. I also feel like the black suit is a great time delineator. If you see a flashback or a flash-forward, him in the black suit lets you know where you are in time because it’s very particular to this certain arc.”
While many fans weren’t happy with the theatrical cut of “Justice League,” Superman fans seemed to be pleased with the version of the character depicted in the film. Whether or not that will be the case with Zack Snyder’s “Justice League” remains to be seen.
Expected to premiere in March, Zack Snyder’s “Justice League” is a 4-part event that will be available on HBO Max.
I’m not sure what his definition of “classic Superman” would have been but I sure would have been on board to find out! In saying that, I think it’s pretty clear that his JL will have Superman that’s in line with MoS and BvS. His JL is not after all, a Superman stand alone movie. How much of Superman will even be in it? Less than three full months away we’ll find out!!
Actually, that’s a good point, about Superman’s involvement in this movie. I believe the character follows the same basic story beats here as he does in the theatrical cut, so in a four hour film, I’d expect him to first pop up at the two-hour mark and still be absent for most of the rest of the film, while he’s trying to recuperate.
So basically, if this Justice League was the one that originally went to theaters that means a MOS 2 would have Henry using the black suit….. No thanks
Yeah, we need to retire the term “classic Superman”. Snyder is not the most eloquent person on this world and this has got him into trouble, but “having an arc” shouldn’t be considered a deviation from “classic interpretation”.
In any case, this isn’t exactly news either, in that he has always said he had a complete 5-movie arc, at the end of which we’d see a more “familiar” Superman, whatever that means. This was movie 3 of 5, so, of course he’s not there yet.
Which only reinforces the idea of telling 1 solid story rather than putting your universe before your characters.
I hate the whole black suit excuse. IMO, the only reason is so he would look cooler in JL 2 when he’s a villain. Zack just used the “hE wOrE iT iN tHe cOmIx wHeN hE cOmEs back” as a means to an end. Timelines for flashbacks makes no sense. If this is the purpose, being in black, the flashbacks would happen after he’s in red and blue right? So after Snyder is done with Superman? His plan was for Superman to finally be Superman at the end of his story right? Ya know, when he doesn’t have to write… Read more »
Sounds like you certainly would do yourself a favor by NOT watching it. It’s almost like you’ve been given an advanced copy and you’re spelling out what you didn’t like. We all know the movies basicially going to have an ending that unfortunately goes no where as far as it being continued. Although we will surly see a few scenes that were in the chop job JL we got, I would expect the entire context to not be compared with as well. For me anyway, I’m looking forward to this because it’s new, and just might be the last time… Read more »
Very late, but don’t care. “Classic Superman” is relative considering how many different versions there are. Knowing Snyder, it could very well be the most classic one. The original. The one that helped people no matter who or where they were and was not afraid to stand up to the law, the military, or politicians to get the job done. He was even a little aggressive back then, something Supes kind of needs to be in this world. He can’t be a TOTAL nice guy. To the people, yes. To the unscrupulous, no. He wanted Cavill’s Superman to mature and… Read more »
I can’t honestly say I’m surprised. I’m going to watch this out of sheer fascination for the end of his run (if it’s good, great! I’d love to have my low expectations exceeded and say “wow, that really made up for the first two films”) – and if he gets to do more via HBO Max, then ok – but… while I still really hate to lose Henry, I’ll be glad for this chapter of the character to close; very happy for the fans of Snyder who get to see at least this finished, and happy that I don’t have… Read more »
With how the left media has manipulated our entire surroundings, everything from here on out will be “quota” driven and subjected to want does and doesn’t suit them. If they continue with this character, we’re probably going to see a version that will be, and I hate to say it, politically driven in ways we never thought possible. I perdict that Snyder’s Superman will be the last “UN-influenced” version we will probably ever see again. Whether it’s better than his first two is irrelevant at this point. The fact we’re even getting it is a major accomplishmnet in it self.
I’d say Snyder’s Superman certainly has influences – I just don’t find them all that suited to the character (for the most part). What many consider left media is actually more neoliberal, whereas Superman started on a more populist/”of the people” bent. I’d honestly like to see a return to that much more Samson-esque vibe, losing the often-overbearing Jesus imagery (and I say this *as* a Christian) that has honestly been too prevalent since Donner (where it was at least more novel and less pronounced) and has become a (imo) lazy way to graft gravitas onto a character that doesn’t… Read more »