Former DCEU director Zack Snyder defended an original Justice League plotline that saw Batman and Lois Lane get together romantically.
Throughout the decades-long histories of both Batman and Superman, many similarities between the characters have been noted by fans.
They look almost identical — both have pretended to be the other, not only in-costume but out-of-costume as well. They also have both developed vast families, with family members often taking on superhero identities to fight alongside them.
However, as revealed back in 2021, a new similarity for the characters was originally planned in early drafts of Snyder's Justice League — a romance with Lois Lane, who for almost her entire comics history has had a relationship with Clark Kent.
Zack Snyder Defends Batman/Lois Lane Relationship
In a new episode of the Russo brothers' Pizza Film School video podcast, director Zack Snyder argued in favor of his originally planned romantic plot for Bruce Wayne and Lois Lane in Justice League.
Snyder explained that "everyone was like, ’Oh my God, you can’t do that," but that "Superman was dead ... and Lois is a pretty amazing person" so he was going to make it work:
Snyder: "I think in the original script, Lois and Batman got together briefly. And there was this whole other thing that everyone was like, 'Oh my God, you can’t do that.'"
Anthony Russo: "I love that."
Joe Russo: "I wish you did do that."
Snyder: "Yeah, because Superman was dead, I was like… and Lois is a pretty amazing person."
Snyder wanted to include this development in Lois' story especially as a way to highlight Amy Adams (Lois Lane) and her talents, saying "Amy’s a genius ...she’s just a great actress and a force of nature:"
Anthony Russo: "But it also brings her into the story in a way. It’s complex, it’s surprising."
Snyder: "Because she’s not really… her part in Justice League is really… we had written it, you know, especially since I had Amy [Adams]. And Amy’s a genius. I really felt like we should lean on Amy, because she’s just a great actress and a force of nature."
The director also felt that seeing a romance between Batman and Lois would allow the film to explore a war-film-like plotline wherein the wife of someone who went to war "moves on, and then the husband appears, like, 'I’m not dead. I’m fine.'"
He would have wanted to set up a love triangle, of sorts, where "Lois was like, 'I’m still in love with Superman. You were kind of a thing,'" but "Batman had already fallen in love with Lois:"
Snyder: "And… then I loved the idea of like setting up this sort of concept… it’s sort of like in a movie like where the husband goes off to war, and he’s dead, and the wife moves on, and then the husband appears, like, 'I’m not dead. I’m fine.'"
Joe Russo: "How do you deal with that?"
Snyder: "Yeah, how do you deal with that? And that was kind of… I was super into that concept that, 'Oh no, Superman can be brought back to life. So now what happens with with this?' And it was that, Lois was like, 'I’m still in love with Superman. You were kind of a thing.' But then at that point, Batman had already fallen in love with Lois and was like…"
Joe Russo: "It’s brilliant. I want to see that. I love that."
How Would This Romance Have Changed Justice League?
As explained back when the scrapped plot was first revealed in 2021, the idea would have been that Bruce would end up needing to sacrifice his chance with Lois by bringing Superman back to life in Justice League, at a personal loss to himself.
This storyline would have diverted greatly from the decades of history all three involved characters had, with Bruce and Lois having only very briefly dated in the comics, but not too seriously on either end. However, more than that, its inclusion could have put Lois' character into an even tighter love interest box that it did not need to be confined by.
To many fans, Lois is simply a love interest, but in reality, she is far more. Making her love for Superman, and Batman's love for her, a major component of the plot of Justice League may not have added to Lois' own independent character arc. Instead, it could have treated Lois as simply a plot device, which would have been a disservice to the beloved character.
However, as is evident by the podcast discussion, many fans would have found that love-triangle story compelling despite this, which may have improved the film overall in the eyes of those fans.
Ultimately, though, what is done is done, and following two different releases and an upcoming DCU reboot, Justice League is likely staying as it is for the foreseeable future.
Justice League and Zack Snyder's Justice League are available to stream on HBO Max.
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