Justice League: Zack Snyder Explains Most Complicated Scene In Movie

By Pierre Chanliau Updated:
Justice League Scenes and Team

Even before Warner Bros. greenlit Zack Snyder's Justice League for HBO Max, the director was very open with fans, showing the die-hards behind-the-scene photos and videos, sneak peeks, secrets from his original cut, and even participating in interviews and streams with fans. During these streams and interviews, Snyder will often be asked about his work as a director.

In a recent interview with fans, Snyder revealed that one of the trickier scenes that he shot for Justice League is relatively simple on the surface and took place in the Wayne aerospace hangar.

NEWS

In an interview with The Farooqi Bros on their Youtube channel Comicbook Debate, Zack Snyder was asked what the most difficult shot in the movie to make was, with Snyder saying that the scene wasn't inherently hard, but tricky due to its setup.

“It wasn't difficult, but the trickiest shot, and it's not going to seem like anything when you see it in the movie, is when the team are in the Wayne Industries Hanger talking about the Mother Box...Cyborg is explaining what the Mother Box is.”

Snyder went on to explain the complicated set up for this scene, which was accompanied by a storyboard drawn by the director that also included how and where the cameras would be placed.

“I've done it in this super complicated two dollies, four cameras through beam splitters in a 360-degree dolly around the table with green screens covering the cameras, so that the cameras were constantly rotating around all the actors.”

Storyboard Zack Snyder Justice League
From Zack Snyder

This diagram shows what angles and shots Zack Snyder wanted to get during this scene, the movement of the cameras, when it started and ended, and the type of lens used for each camera.

“Two cameras, four cameras, with two cameras in each size so eight cameras all in sync rolling around them and it allowed the actors to really interact and you see all the exchanges and one says a piece of dialogue and the other one picks it up and it all just kind of like flows around this like beautiful circle.”

However, Snyder points out that despite how complicated this scene was to shoot, many fans won't really notice it as they watch the movie.

“When you see it in the movie, it's gonna go right past you, but I was really deep in it when I figured that out.”

 

 

WHAT THIS MEANS

Regardless of what you may think of Zack Snyder as a filmmaker, it's always interesting whenever someone talks intensely about something they're passionate about and the work that they put into it. Snyder often spirals into this kind of discourse in interviews and streams.

Still, it will be fascinating seeing this scene again in the movie, cut in the way Snyder originally intended it to be, and especially using the new 1.66.1 aspect ratio.

It's also a treat to be shown storyboards like this, especially when it also includes what's meant to be in the frame and how the camera movement would be achieved for the scene. No matter the quality Zack Snyder's Justice League will be in the end, it'll be exciting to compare both this cut and the theatrical release to see the differences and choices made in both.

- 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.