Henry Cavill's Superman Will Reach His 'Pinnacle' in Justice League's Snyder Cut

By Tom Drew Posted:
Henry Cavill as Superman, The Justice League in the background

The Snyder Cut is well underway much to the joy of DC fans, due to the announcement of Zack Snyder's Justice League earlier this year. The film is launching on HBO Max in 2021 and has already had some new footage released, teasing what's to come.

Several figures from the first film have either been confirmed to return or voiced interest in returning for the new cut of Justice League . J.K. Simmons, who played Commissioner Gordon in the original cut, noted that he would be willing to return for any additional dialogue or voiceover that is required. Another aspect that will be carried over is the original score of the film, composed by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL.

In a new interview, Zack Snyder discusses Superman's role in Justice League ...

NEWS

In an interview with Grace Randolph from Beyond The Trailer, Zack Snyder talked about Superman's role in Justice League . One of the notes that Snyder discussed was Superman's struggle in grappling with his identity, his humanity and his relationships:

"I love the idea of Superman going on a journey with his character... I love the idea of Superman having to reconcile his morality, reconcile his place on Earth, reconcile like his... love affair with Lois and how that affects... the way he relates to humanity and all those things as we all do with the normal relationships we all have in our daily lives. So I think that when you see Superman grapple with those things, he becomes a lot more relatable ."

Snyder also talked about interesting ways in which Superman can be positioned and portrayed, including the responsibility he carries of being at the forefront of all of DC's heroes:

"When I see Superman having to figure out what to do, I now can go like, 'Wow,' if I was Superman... Superman is such an abstract character, in his powers and what he's able to do... Anytime you can kind of bring him back down to Earth, he becomes a lot more relatable , and then, and I think, and for that he's more interesting... A huge respect for his like moral code, and his like, and his ultimate, and I think his ultimate place as the sort of, as the... top of the pyramid of the DC superhero world... I think you have to... in the end he has to achieve that... pinnacle."

Randolph and Snyder then discussed how Justice League would be chronicling the "pinnacle" of Superman's journey:

Grace: "So you feel you're taking him to that pinnacle with your story?"

Zack: "I always felt like that was what I was doing. Now like with the resurrection sort of theme, concept... You know, who is he now? What is he... When you touch the eternal, in the sense that coming back from the grave... How are we changed by that?"

You can watch the full interview here:

WHAT THIS MEANS

Snyder's comments are largely up for interpretation, but it is clear that Justice League was always intended to follow Superman building himself back up again.

In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Clarks reaches a pinnacle only to be stripped of reaching this height through his death at the hands of Doomsday. By returning Clark to this state of rock bottom, his resurrection gives him a second chance at reaching the height of his power once again and makes this struggle and potential resolution all the more satisfying.

In Joss Whedon's version of Justice League , Lois Lane was intrinsically tied with Superman's character arc. This was teased in Batman v Superman when The Flash tells Bruce Wayne that "Lois is the key." Some fans believed that this aspect to Superman's story was not sufficiently covered in Whedon's Justice League . Therefore, Snyder may be able to return to this plot point and do it justice in order to get Superman to the pinnacle that Snyder hopes him to.

How Superman will reach the pinnacle of his character remains to be seen. Zack Snyder's Justice League releases on HBO Max next year.

- About The Author: Tom Drew
Tom Drew is the Executive Editor at The Direct. Tom writes for The Direct's Marvel, Star Wars, and DC branches while specializing in all things movies, from blockbuster to indie darlings.