The Snyder Cut of Justice League is not only set to come as a remedy for the disaster that was the movie's theatrical cut in 2017, but also as a vessel to allow director Zack Snyder to reveal his full vision of this movie to the world.
After serving as the director or executive producer on all but one movie in the DC Extended Universe, Snyder knows the franchise better than anybody, and he is clearly looking forward to expanding on the mythology of the Justice League in his four-hour cut.
Although the DCEU has brought together the talents of its six core heroes through nine movies thus far, there are a few notable characters who haven't made their presence felt over the past eight years.
Thankfully, news has just come confirming that Snyder will rectify this for one of the Justice League's most notable heroes.
NEWS
In a new interview with Collider, DCEU star Harry Lennix confirmed that his character, General Swanwick, will adapt the Martian Manhunter persona in Zack Snyder's Director's Cut of Justice League upon its release in March.
Lennix revealed that he filmed new scenes for the HBO Max project in the Fall of 2020:
"I was on a green screen, basically, so you can actually film things in a way where you don't have to endanger people. But I did shoot with Zack and his team back..."
Later in the interview, Lennix expands on details about how he sees the Manhunter and how his character fits in with the rest of the Justice League:
He's a good person, he's a heroic figure. He's not a bad man, he's trying to actually make the world better... I think anybody in that League is already determined to be virtuous. I think he's a very virtuous character."
"I think a lot of it is going to be in the hands of Zack and the context of what it was that was shot in London a few years back now."
WHAT THIS MEANS
J'onn J'onzz was a complete no-show through the DCEU’s first eight years, and his absence caused quite the buzz among fans of the classic character from the comics. Even Lennix himself had no idea that he was set to be revealed as the Martian Manhunter until the lead-up to Justice League’s theatrical cut, but he never had the chance to film any of the necessary material as the movie went through development due to scheduling conflicts.
The Martian Manhunter made a name for himself as one of the founding members of the Justice League, originally introduced in 1950 with telepathic and shape-shifting abilities. Lennix had recently dropped hints on social media about this potential evolution, and Zack Snyder had revealed storyboard images showing how he would have featured the Manhunter in his original movie as well.
Lennix is clearly ecstatic to bring this iconic character to life, and it will be interesting to find out how he fits alongside the rest of his "virtuous" Justice League teammates. His transformation from General Swanwick should be one of the highlights of this new cut, and it adds another layer of hype on top of everything else already announced.
The Snyder Cut of Justice League will premiere on HBO Max in March 2021.
