Justice League: Zack Snyder Confirms Lord of the Rings Inspiration For Key Scene

Zack Snyder discusses Darkseid and the influence that Lord of the Rings had on Justice League.

By Pierre Chanliau Posted:
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Today is a day of celebration for Zack Snyder fans and the movement to release his cut of Justice League. It has been three years since the theatrical release of Justice League, which is also when the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement began. That movement ultimately led to Warner Bros. allowing Zack Snyder to complete his vision and release his vision of Justice League.

A new trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League was released, both in color and black and white. Also, fans were given a much better look at Steppenwolf's new design. Additionally, coinciding with the trailer's release, Zack Snyder decided to sit down with fans to discuss it frame-by-frame with them. During this discussion, Snyder talked about Darkseid's characterization, the anti-life equation, and the influence of Lord of the Rings.

NEWS

In the Justice League teaser breakdown with Zack Snyder, the director discussed a younger Darkseid's backstory, then known as Uxas, and the Anti-Life equation's origin in this universe:

"He dug the Earth up, cause he felt like the Anti-Life equation was here, and he'd pound the Earth to reveal the anti-life equation. In the movie, you see it in a physical form, which is all those patterns of lava that exist on the ground, and that's how they're able to visualize it, so that would have to be deciphered to figure out how the Anti-Life equation would be put into practice. Uxas, at this point, in his conquest of Earth, Young Uxas is super powerful. The only thing that could really stand up against him is the old Gods, the defenders of Earth, and the old King of Atlantis."

Later in the video, Snyder talks more about Uxas and his mindset when he first invaded Earth, before he was driven away by Earth's defenders, during the history lesson scene. Zack Snyder actually acknowledges the influence that the worldbuilding of Lord of the Rings had on this backstory, saying that "I really like this sort of crazy sci-fi Lord of the Rings world:"

"He's summoning the mother box, he's revealed the Anti-Life equation, he's created the unity. This world is in the bag, in his mind... He's just getting ready to not only take over this world but probably the ultimate weapon in the universe. He doesn't realize that he's about to face off against these very determined protectors of Earth... Those are the pre-mother boxes, that's part of the armada, you can sort of see the motherships, these are the dropships. Really, a fun design, creating this world, I really like this sort of crazy sci-fi Lord of the Rings world. Designing it was really fun... you'll see a lot more of it in the movie."

WHAT THIS MEANS

It will be great to see what else was added to the history lesson scene included in the theatrical cut. Snyder said that "you'll see a lot more of it in the movie," which implies that fans will indeed see more flashbacks to Darkseid's invasion of Earth. Also, considering that 2.5 hours of unseen footage is being added, the movie's inclusion of more Darkseid seems even more likely.

There's so much more that fans could see in this flashback sequence, such as more action shots of Green Lanterns, the Olympians, and Atlantis. Whether or not Zack Snyder's Justice League will be a good or bad movie, there will at least be a complete and uncompromised movie, which is more than what most directors achieve with big blockbusters. 

- About The Author: Pierre Chanliau
Pierre Chanliau began as a news & feature writer for The Direct at the site's launch in 2020. As a longtime reader of superhero comic books, Pierre's knowledge of Marvel and DC is extensive, informing his reporting and editorial pieces regarding the MCU and DCU.