WMG / Justice League (2017)

For the WMG page of Zack Snyder's Justice League, see here.

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Pre-Release

Ben Affleck will sport the Sad Affleck face in the movie

He was an actor with a promising future. For years, he still had a promising future. Even after Daredevil, or Pearl Harbor, he still had a promising future. Then he made acted as Batfleck, and the sad Affleck face was an instant meme.So the only way he has to free himself of the stigma is to embrace it. He will sport the Sad Affleck face many times in the movie, like an "I'm not sad, I'm not in pain, and I don't care.

Snyder has said that Justice League will be like a superhero take on Seven Samurai

And that GL won't appear until Part II. Coming out of B.v.S that means that The Magnificent Seven Samurai are

• The Hero will receive the Call to Adventure. He will then assemble a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits. - Batman
• The Lancer (if not immediately present, The Hero always knows exactly where to find one) - Wonder Woman
• The Big Guy - Aquaman
• The Smart Guy - Cyborg
• The Old Guy (sometimes a Shell-Shocked Veteran) - Also Wonder Woman
• The Young Guy - The Flash
• The Funny Guy - Also The Flash

With the final lineup (with Martian Manhunter not appearing yet) being:

• The Hero - Superman
• The Lancer - Batman
• The Big Guy - Aquaman
• The Smart Guy - Cyborg
• The Old Guy (sometimes a Shell-Shocked Veteran) - Wonder Woman
• The Young Guy - Green Lantern (possibly meaning we might get Kyle instead of Hal Jordan or John Stewart)
• The Funny Guy - The Flash

Amanda Waller will appear

Because c'mon, it's Amanda Waller. She's basically an even more ambiguous Nick Fury, and a vital character to many other JL adaptations. Also, in reality, Viola Davis signed a multi-picture contract.

• Tossed. She is neither seen or mentioned.

Colin Farrell or Charles Dance is playing Steppenwolf

• According to reports, Farrell has been cast in an undeclared role (Possibly John Constantine, failing this), and many rumors suggest that Dance is being circled for a role.
  • Additionally, since according to sources the big bad himself will have a cameo or two, he'll be cast, with James Earl Jones or Kevin Grevioux
• Tossed. Steppenwolf is being played by Ciarán Hinds.

Part One will be based on Throne of Atlantis or another Aquaman story

This image shows a mock-up image of what Queen Mera will look like in one corner, strongly suggesting that the story will feature Aquaman in a major fashion.

• Rumors suggest that this could be the case.
• Tossed. And there was no Part One, eventually.

The New Frontier will Serve as a basis for the story

The New Frontier was at one point released as two graphic novels and Justice League is being released in two parts. It also functioned as an origin story for the Green Lantern, who coincidentally hasn't been seen yet. As the Trinity of Superheros has already been established, this aligns with the beginning where they were originally members of the Justice Society.

• Partially Tossed, as the two movies are now confirmed to be standalone stories.
• Tossed.

If Darkseid is the Big Bad, Steppenwolf and Gorgeous/Gordon Godfrey will appear.

Steppenwolf will be like in Earth 2, planning on taking Earth as his own, as he is sick of having to serve his own nephew and Godfrey will be revealed to have been on Earth for years as a spy healing turn the citizens against the ones who could thwart Darkseid's invasion.

• Confirmed as far as Steppenwolf goes, according to this deleted scene. (Unless that's Yuga Khan or someone similar - in any case, it appears as though the New Gods will be important to the setting.)
  • Partially confirmed; Steppenwolf is the Big Bad of the film, while Darkseid will likely have at least a cameo. No word on Godfrey.
  • Tossed for Darkseid's cameo, he doesn't appear but is mentioned.

Justice League will have a three-sided war

Maybe that thing Lex saw in the deleted scene was actually Mantis, a long-time rival to Darkseid. They may use Earth as a battleground and try to recruit metahumans, but the Justice League will see both sides as a threat to Earth and fight both of them.I've been watching way too many election debates...

• Tossed. It's just earth vs. forces of Apokolips. Although by the ending, New Gods still exist (but will Steppenwolf's failure actually deter them from conquering earth?), and Luthor are assembling Legion of Doom, starting with HIS Batman, Deathstroke.

Black Adam will be the Token Evil Teammate of the Justice League in Part One

Dwayne Johnson has mentioned that his character will first appear before Shazam is released. Given that the movie appears to be headed toward resolving a conflict between the Atlanteans and the Amazons, it seems likely that another supernatural third party could intervene. The Justice League will trust him at first, but his own devices would eventually be revealed, leading to the characters uniting to stop him. It also seems like the perfect way to set up the Shazam movie (provided that Billy Batson doesn't get his powers until after the events of this film). Not to mention that, you know, it's The Rock! The guy's practically money waiting to mint itself.

• Tossed: Black Adam isn't in Justice League. So where would he appear!? *great anticipation*

Willem Dafoe will play Abin Sur

As a contrast to his Green Goblin years, who better than a green-clad hero?

• Tossed, as he is playing Nuidis Vulko, a supporting character of Aquaman.
• He's been cut from the theatrical version.

Ben Affleck, already an executive producer, will be promoted even further to directing Justice League Part II

Of course, it all depends on how Justice League Part I and the solo Batman film are received, but it seems likely considering that Zack Snyder's two films in the series got mixed reception at best, as well as Batfleck being seen as the best part of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

• Pretty much Tossed. He already stepped down from the Batman movie, it's unlikely that he's wanting to helm such colossal projects, especially if he has to play a role in it at the same time.

Green Lantern's debut will be a Big Damn Heroes moment

• They've said he won't factor into the overall plot of this movie. However, they haven't ruled out a cameo of some kind...
  • The Green Lantern that become JL member hasn't appear, but a member of Green Lantern Corps helped fight Steppenwolf during "The Age of Heroes".

Green Lantern will make a debut in The Stinger

• Problem: Zack Snyder avoids post-credit scenes.
  • Tossed. Green Lantern hasn't debuted, and there are two post-credit scenes, one of them (Flash and Superman's race) was not conceived by him.

Steppenwolf will try to lure Wonder Woman to his side

And he'll actually say "Why don't you come with me, little girl?" with absolutely no sense of irony.

• Tossed. He's to busy taunting her about slaying the Amazons and the Old Gods being dead to ask her to join.

The character "Ancient Atlantean King" is the DCEU version of Atlan The Dead King

And he will appear as the Big Bad of the Aquaman solo film.

• Tossed. There is no indication for the Atlantean king, and the antagonists of the Aquaman are Ocean Master and Black Manta.
• Actually half-confirmed: while the Ancient Atlantean king is unnamed in Justice League, he's confirmed to be Atlan in Aquaman. He's only a posthumous character, though—Aquaman eventually claims his trident and armor, giving him the classic orange-and-green look from the comics, and whatever was left of him crumbles once Aquaman takes the trident so Atlan the Dead King is staying dead.

Why the Apokolips army is invading.

It's because Darkseid has found out through the Kryptonian technology of Zod's ship or the minds of human, holds the key of solving the Anti Life Equation.

• Tossed. Steppenwolf comes to earth to retrieve the Mother Boxes and conquer it so he can be in Darkseid's good graces again.

Steppenwolf will be the one to bring Superman back to life.

And he will serve as Steppenwolf's Dragon for most of the film. Why didn't Zod regenerate if the Kryptonians could come back to life? It will be Steppenwolf who manages to resurrect Superman and brainwash him to be Brutaal.

• Tossed. It's the members of Justice League themselves with a Mother Box.

Due to Executive Meddling:

• 1. WB and DC will push hard on making these movies lighter in tone and Avengers-like in feeling, fearing that major setback with Batman v Superman was its nature of being Too Bleak, Stopped Caring. Actually, the credit for that goes to Plot Hole s and Ass Pull s in films script, unnoticed by entire production team, but try to tell them that.
• 2. Instead of getting ideas right from DC's comics, animation, games and so on, Snyder and Co use Avengers as the main source of inspiration. Knowing Snyder, he, probably, doesn't even realize that. Proofs:
  • a. Darkseid pushed back as the Greater-Scope Villain, completely like Thanos, instead his general Steppenwolf (like Avengers' the Other) not only will be the first JL film's Big Bad, but adapted into ugly Humanoid Abomination, unlike the cool look he has in the comics.
  • b. As rumored, JL's base of operations will be aboard something called the "Flying Fox" and Batmobile and lots of Bat-equipment will be based here. Completely, not unlike Avengers' Helicarrier and Stark’s tech.
• 3. Only a suspicion, but Batman probably will not manslaughter people anymore. (Honestly, kind of sad, because, there were lot of Pragmatic approach to it.)
• 4. Unrelated documentary on George Miller 's unreleased Justice League: Mortal might be green-lighted (if ever) only after the theatrical release of the first or the even second DCEU JL film. Main reason – to not divide fanbase and Internet users by letting a fraction of them even assuming that JL: Mortal costumes or premise or anything was going to be better than those of DCEU Justice League. On side note, so far it looked like DCEU does it better. The other reason might be that most of the footage from Miller 's movie is (supposedly) indisposed, even with whatever Ryan Unicomb might be saying on that matter. If so, a shame for those who wanted to see, say, JL: Mortal 's batsuit.
• Even so, Justice League and its Part 2 might be pretty awesome movies. So we'll see.
  • Confirmed I guess. A lot of plot points is very similar, although thankfully any arguments are resolved quickly and peacefully. That actually kinda boring.

Superman will return and will sport that infamous mullet

Because he had that when he came back from the dead after that Doomsday incident. Then, everyone in the League and Lois will comment how ridiculous his hair looked.

• Tossed for the mullet.

When fighting Steppenwolf, Flash will make several references to the band of the same name.

• Tossed.

Superman will pretend to go rogue

After Clark inevitably gets brought back to life (possibly by the Big Bad), he encounters a captured Batman like in the Knightmare. Except Clark doesn't kill anyone in this version. Batman and Superman fake Batman's death to trick the Big Bad into thinking that Superman is on his side. Maybe Clark takes an anatomy specimen heart and pretends that it's the heart of Batman. Meanwhile, Batman is doing his usual stealth stuff to thwart the Evil Plan.

• Tossed.

Aquaman is in exile

Thanks to his half-human heritage, Arthur is currently exiled from Atlantis by its xenophobic citizens. There ought to be a reason why he's heavily drinking and apparently focusing effort on feeding this one town during the winter.

• At least it's pretty clear that he feels ostracized and in return rarely visit Atlantis. His cousin are not happy about that. So self-exile? Does that confirm it?

Another Man of Steel scene (or possibly two) will be shown from another perspective

Specifically regarding Aquaman - the first could be Aquaman ordering whales to rescue Clark Kent from the oil rig (which is something that the producers mentioned as an element to the overall story of the DCEU during the production of Dawn Of Justice), and the second could be Aquaman witnessing Superman saving the ocean from the World Engine. (The former is more likely due to Henry Cavill apparently growing a beard for part of the production, and having since shaved it off early on, as Clark was bearded in that sequence.) The knowledge that the Justice League is an organization that Superman (sort of) founded could end up being the major reason why Aquaman joins after initially refusing.

• Tossed.

Steppenwolf's status as Darkseid's uncle will be brought up or referenced

Possibly talking about what it's like serving his own nephew.

• Tossed. Darkseid is named, but his family ties to Steppenwolf are not brought up.

The last scene will be everybody riding the invisible jet or the bat plane home

And everybody is bickering. Wonder Woman turns to Bruce.W W : Do you think this can work?Bruce: I like to dream.Cue "Magic Carpet Ride."

• Tossed.

There will be an epilogue/after-credits scene that sees an object crashing into a military test field

And out comes not one but THREE Green Lanterns all bickering that they were probably late for the Parademon party.

• Tossed.

Batman will accidentally confuse Flash for Robin at one point

Springing partly from the meme about Bruce adopting young orphans, but also due to his feelings of guilt over the death of his last Robin, Jason Todd.

• It'll probably be during a battle where Barry tries to insist that he's okay, only for Batman to yell for him to stay back while also calling him "Jason."
  • Surprisingly, Batman is very level-headed in this film (other than that Steve Trevor jab) so no yelling. Although Batman do act like a somewhat distant but caring father to Barry sometimes (happy that Barry joined his team, not scolding Barry but tell him to go to pantry instead when he interrupted Aquaman-Cyborg fight, telling Barry to do some work in another place...)
  • Tossed.

Abin Sur will show up instead of any human Lanterns

That way they don't have to cast any of them until later. He will die in Justice League 2 after having a fair amount of time for the audience to get to know him.

• Tossed.

Lex Luthor is the Seventh.

Following suit from Forever Evil (2013), Lex helps the League in a Evil Versus Oblivion scenario and by the end they come to an uneasy respect after seeing his incredible cunning in action.

• Tossed.

Batman will mention that he and Aquaman's fathers were both called Thomas.

This will be why Aquaman says no, in response to the infamous "Martha" scene.

• Tossed.

One Green Lantern will take place in an important sequence before becoming a Lantern

Whether it's Hal or John or Guy, they will meet at least one of the Leaguers and help them as best as a normal person can. There might be a stinger hinting towards them receiving the Ring, but this makes it so that a GL will already be familiar with the League on a personal level. That way when they do become a Lantern, the first thing they do is make contact with a Leaguer.

• Tossed, although two Green Lanterns fought alongside Olympians, Amazons, Atlanteans and humans to repel Steppenwolf's first invasion.

Deathstroke is on the contract of either A.R.G.U.S. or Lex Luthor

The former of which would make for a nice tie-in with Suicide Squad.

• It's also possible that Deathstroke was the person that Flash was trying to warn Batman about. He is, after all, shown walking aboard the what appears to be the Signature Team Transport, suggesting that might be a working for the Justice League as a double-agent to one or both of the aforementioned parties.
  • Not confirmed yet, but the stinger shows that Lex Luthor recruits Deathstroke into his Legion of Doom.

Shining Knight will cameo

Apologies for historical inaccuracies, but the preview footage appears to show a Mother Box being buried in medieval times. Maybe during that scene, a knight will be sent off to send a message to someone. And a moment later, we see a knight-mounted pegasus fly off into the sky.

• Tossed.

Steppenwolf will be a Disc-One Final Boss

Darkseid actually is the real villain; they're just not telling anyone. After what happened with Doomsday, the studio is doing the opposite with Darkseid, showing no hint of him at all and will not reveal anything, allowing Darkseid to be a very unexpected surprise to the audience. This decision really makes sense when one looks at the actual information we have.

1. Literally everyone has called Justice League a culmination of the trilogy that compromises Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League (2017); Chris Terrio even compared it to Return of the King. This is even further supported by the fact that Terrio doesn't even know if he's writing JL 2 nor does Snyder know if he's directing it.

2. The two movies would be repetitive. Steppenwolf searches for the Mother Boxes to launch an invasion in Justice League 2, Darkseid shows up and launches an invasion. It's the same movie; the only way it isn't repetitive is if you hold off the invasion till JL 2 which makes JL way too small for what it is.

3. It's a bad choice on a business level think about it, in your crossover team up movie the villain is a henchmen and a very little known henchmen. Loki was known even more so he was very popular he's a great choice for the villain especially since Loki is no small time villain considering he's easily one of the top 5 biggest villains of the marvel universe and even was the enemy who brought the avengers together. There's no comparison it makes no sense having such a small name villain for such a big movie seriously people it would be like if The Other from Avengers was the main villain of the first movie.

• Tossed. Steppenwolf is the Big Bad of JL, Darkseid is only mentioned by Steppenwolf once, to show that he is working for Darkseid.
  • Almost confirmed though - Zack Snyder's original plan would've teased Darkseid more, with the sequel introducing Darkseid as the main villain.

The Green Lantern joining the team will be John

When the previous Green Lantern (2011) movie came out, one of the major complaints and sources of confusion for the general audience was that the character was not the one they knew from the popular Justice League cartoon, which was many people's first exposure to the Green Lantern franchise. WB seems to have learned from this mistake by calling the reboot Green Lantern Corps, indicating that there may be multiple human Lanterns this time, allowing for both Hal Jordan and John Stewart (the aforementioned Lantern from the Justice League cartoon) to appear. Stewart could be added to the movie version of the Justice League to provide a sense of familiarity for those who remember the TV show, which would help with the DCEU's current Win Back the Crowd approach. Adding to this, it's been announced that to celebrate Justice League and the upcoming Power Rangers (2017) film, DC and Boom! Studios will be publishing a Justice League vs. Power Rangers comic book series the same year the two movies are set to be released. Though not set in the respective canons of the films, the cast of the book more or less reflects the ones seen in the movies...with the exception of John Stewart being part of the Justice League in the crossover. It could be an indication that he will be part of the movie League and that DC is trying to once again line up its properties.

• Tossed. No Green Lantern joins the League in the film.

Batman will be told he's no one, that he's alone and be taunted by Steppenwolf which leads him to suffering another Darkest Hour

• The rest of Justice League (Wonder Woman, Mera. Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg) are knocked unconsious, which leaves Batman to fight Steppenwolf by himself. despite his best efforts, Bruce doesn't manage to cause a lot of damage to Steppenwolf. who begins taunting him that he's no one, that he's useless and he ultimately is destined to be all alone and die alone, which sends Batman into another Darkest Hour. close to Jumping Off the Slippery Slope and performing a Face–Heel Turn for real. Fortunately, Superman returns just at that moment, proceeding to tell Batman that he's better than he believes he is.

Flash will get a Quicksilver scene, in similiarity to the Evan Peters scenes in X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse where he saves an entire school in slow-motion

• Tossed. He saves some scientists of STAR Labs with his speed indeed, but not in slow-motion. The closest momoent he has to the X-Men film series Quicksilver is when he does a Wall Run to bounce Wonder Woman's sword back into her hand with a finger tip.

The Seventh is Lois Lane

She's "The Key", after all. She will HAVE to be brought along, especially if a plot point involves Superman returning in a "dark" state.

• Never explicitly addressed, but she does get brought along.

Steppenwolf will be The Starscream, intending to use the Mother Boxes to overthrow Darkseid

• His desire to overthrow Darkseid will stem from shame he feels for being forced to serve his own nephew. Comics Steppenwolf is a bit of a Flat Character, and this could both solve that problem and address his relationship with Darkseid in an organic way.
  • similar to my theory that I put up earlier and adding to this, he could use them to try and send Darkseid somewhere else so he won't fight back.

Lois's arc in the film, prior to Superman's return, will focus on a psychological conflict with Lex Luthor.

• It's almost a given. She's completely traumatized by the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it's all due to Luthor. The man went to great lengths to destroy Superman's reputation...and eventually, kill him. So early on, we will see Lois visit Luthor in his cell—perhaps to get information the League needs, or perhaps to remind herself Luthor can't hurt her any more. And then...the League needs him to fight Steppenwolf and Darkseid. And poor Lo will Not. Be. Happy.
  • Perhaps we'll see a cathartic moment of Lois snapping and trying to strangle Luthor, with Bruce and Diana holding her back. Lex is dragged away, while Lois breaks down in tears....
  • Tossed. Her cathartic moment is bonding conversation with Ma Kent, where she admit that she's only done "small" reporting since Clarks death, and Ma Kent too grieved to remember to pay the rent. But Ma Kent still very supportive for her "Daughter-in-law"s career and future.

Nightwing will be mentioned or even make an appearance

Bruce will be talking with Diana about why he's doing what he is and bring up his past where he tells her about the first Robin who went on his own way.

• Tossed. No mention to ANY Robin sadly.

League members in the sequel

• Martian Manhunter
• Hawkman
• Green Arrow
• Black Canary
• The Atom
• Zatanna
• Captain Atom
• Metamorpho
• Firestorm
• Red Tornado
• Vixen
• Doctor Light
• Vibe
• Adam Strange
• Blue Devil
• Black Lightning
• Geo-Force
• Supergirl

Clark Kent will return from time in the "Witness Protection Program" to explain why people thought he "died."

• Feasible, since he can claim that from a reporting source.

The fact that Batman tried to kill Superman will be a plot point

• At first, the League will have difficulties adjusting to working together as pretty much all of them are used to working alone, but as time goes on, they will start to work well as a team. Seeing that they will eventually become an unstoppable force, Steppenwolf will then reveal to the team about Luthor's plan to get Batman and Superman to fight each other. More specifically, how Batman seemed to look over evidence that he was being manipulated in order to give himself any legitimate reason to kill Superman. He will then ask something along the lines of "How long until he sees you as a threat that needs to be destroyed for the safety of mankind?" The will shake the faith that the team (sans Wonder Woman) has in Batman.

The John Williams Superman theme will play when Superman returns.

The DCEU Superman is slated to become the ideal Superman we all know and love within this movie. So what better way to solidify that than by using the ideal Superman's theme?

• This is a WMG page, so any theory can be here, no matter how improbable. However, there are a lot of reasons why this really is the most improbable theory on this page right now:
  • Superman isn't James Bond or Indiana Jones. He doesn't have a single iconic musical theme that has to be in all of his movies. Superman and the Mole Men, Superman vs. the Elite, Superman: Unbound, Superman: Doomsday, All-Star Superman, and Superman: Brainiac Attacks all have different musical themes. For that matter, the DCEU Superman already has his own perfectly good theme. The John Williams theme is not the theme for Superman as a general concept. It's the theme for the Chris Reeve Superman. Superman Returns only used it because Brandon Routh was playing the Chris Reeve Superman.
  • The ideal Superman erases his girlfriend's memories (after having sex with her) and solves half of his problems with time travel? Not everyone sees Chris Reeve as the ideal Superman.
  • Surely the DCAU Superman theme and the Fleischer Superman theme are as worthy of being called "the ideal Superman's theme?" Why single out the John Williams one?
  • Warner Brothers hasn't really said anything about Henry Cavill's Superman becoming "ideal" in Justice League. For all we know he could barely be in the movie and spend most of his screen time fighting the League.

Having said all that, if the John Williams theme does show up in the movie, I will happily eat crow.

• Confirmed! Eat your crow!

There will be a scene where Batman and Superman are in a cafe.

Just cuz.

Superman will return to life, but 'Clark Kent' won't.

Despite putting up with it for almost 80 years, audiences still make fun of how ridiculous Superman's 'disguise' is. It would be even harder to explain both of them publicly dying (and even having both of their deaths written about in the same newspaper) only to have them both come back to life. So, to protect his secret identity, everyone will just agree that 'Clark Kent' stays 'dead' after Superman returns. Maybe he can stay at a newly-constructed Fortress of Solitude when he's not saving the day, or when he and Lois want some...alone time.

• Tossed.

The first act of the film

Based on reports from set visit and the trailer, here's how Justice League's first minutes will go:

1. Flashback to ancient times where something of previous war with Darkseid is shown, ending with the Human leaders burying their Mother Box as shown in the trailer.
2. After opening titles, scene of Bruce trying to recruit Aquaman, starting In Medias Res.
3. Cut to the Batcave, Bruce and Diana chatting about his visit to Aquaman.
4. Cyborg's flashback explaining how he got mechanical (and clearing up the Mother Box connection), as well as introduction to Silas Stone, before Bruce tries to recruit Vic; failure again on Bat's part.
5. A quick rundown of Barry Allen's mundane life, culminating in Bruce paying him a visit and finally succeeding in recruitment.
6. Parademons kidnap Silas Stone; Vic, grudgingly, decides to go to Bruce for help.
7. The team goes into the underground to find Silas Stone.

No idea what happens later.

• The flashback happened as exposition after the failed Aquaman recruitment, and Cyborg didn't get flashback, just argument with his father. Diana recruit Vic while Bruce recruit Barry.

Building on the above theory...

After Silas and the other kidnapped scientists are rescued, the remaining two acts of the movie will be about the Justice League paying visits to Atlantis and Themiscyra to retrieve their Mother Boxes and prevent Steppenwolf from getting them. Expect Atlantis and Themiscyra to come under heavy attack by Parademons. The movie will conclude with the League facing Steppenwolf and possibly using the Mother Boxes against him.

• Tossed. The scientists (and janitor) were kidnapped after Steppenwolf get the other 2 boxes. they did use the one they have for a very good use though before it fallen to Steppenwolf hands.

Parademons will not be sentient in this movie.

In the comics, whether Parademons are sentient or not is a Depending on the Writer thing. Jack Kirby's Parademons were sentient and talked to each other, but most writers since (including Geoff Johns in Justice League: Origin, which this film is partly based on) have portrayed them as unthinking, non-speaking cannon fodder that it is acceptable to kill en masse. The movie will probably take this approach. That way, Batman can look cool shooting at Parademons from his seat in the Batmobile wearing goggles without the moral ambiguity that would occur if the Parademons were clearly people.

• Confirmed. They don't even listen to Steppenwolf when their hunger for 'fear' kicked in.

The movie will be tonally and structurally similar to The Avengers (2012).

The characters will interact and play off of each other in ways that are amusing (or at least meant to be amusing). The superheroes will fly around the world in a sci-fi vehicle, visiting hot spots of major villainous activity. The movie will produce spectacle by pitting its heroes against hordes of nameless, faceless alien invaders. The villain will be charismatic and witty. The movie will be mostly self-contained but end by teasing a Myth Arc. And there will be a supporting character death that motivates the heroes (Silas Stone is the obvious choice, but in a universe where Jimmy Olsen got shot in the face and Emil Hamilton got trapped in the Phantom Zone it's entirely possible this might happen to Hippolyta, Jim Gordon, or Alfred). Superman will play the role Hawkeye did in The Avengers - a brainwashed minion of the villain who only gets to be himself in the climactic action scene and has limited screen time overall.

• Semi-confirmed, albeit for different reasons - no supporting character death (it's a kidnapping instead), Superman suffers a case of Came Back Wrong as opposed to being brainwashed, and

The "Cyborg will die" theory circulating elsewhere on the Internet is bunk.

Cyborg has a solo movie planned, it's unlikely that the Justice League would lose a member on their first mission, and Warner Bros. probably wants to avoid Black Dude Dies First.

• Confirmed. Cyborg survives the whole movie.

The Flash will go back in time to bring help

Superman's recovery and return to life will be revealed to be the work of Barry Allen. At some point, Bruce will finally tell Barry about the Knightmare where a future version of him warned him about an incoming threat. While confused at first, Barry ("Flash Fact") will come up with/point out some theories about how his super speed should technically allow him to travel through time. At some Darkest Hour, Barry is told to run, and runs faster than he ever has before. He arrives at Superman's grave in Smallville, his arrival causing gravitational distortions due to the intense power of the Speed Force which Barry uses to resurrect Clark. He then snaps the both of them back to the present, clearing the way for Superman to pull off a Big Damn Heroes moment.

Other Apokalyptian villains besides Steppenwolf and Darkseid will briefly appear.

Like Desaad, Kalibak, Kanto, the Female Furies, and GRANNY GOODNESS!

• Tossed - Darkseid is mentioned, but unless one of the nameless Apokoliptian priests ends up being retconned as Desaad, they're the only members of Apokalips to show up.

Julian Lewis Jones' character

• Darkseid
• Hal Jordan
• Kalibak
• Gordon Godfrey
• Zendaya
  • All Jossed. His character is King Atlan of Atlantis.

Superman's role will be similar to that of Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron

Let's say it turns out that Darkseid is an incorporeal being; maybe he was deprived of his physical body during the last war he fought. So Steppenwolf comes to Earth and resurrects Superman/Kal-El with the intent of having his nephew/master possess the Kryptonian's body, similar to how Ultron intended to enter Vision's body until Vision was stolen by the Avengers and became their ally instead. Fortunately, the Justice League arrives and stops Steppenwolf somehow, and Superman leads the League in the final battle.

Michael McElhatton's mystery role would be:

He never said who or what he'll be playing but it's probably huge.

• Darkseid
• Kalibak
• Yuga Khan (Darkseid's father)
• Highfather
• Metron
• Desaad
  • All Tossed. He is the leader of a terrorist group that exist to show just how hopeless the world is after Superman's death.

The finished film will be dedicated to the memory of Autumn Snyder

Vulko will die and give Aquaman a motivation to fight.

Because almost every character that Willem Dafoe plays dies, and if he's playing a heroic character, he mainly serves as a moral support to the bigger character (i.e.: to Charlie Sheen in Platoon).

• Dafoe is cast in the Aquaman-focused movie, so this casts doubt on the death mark... in at least Justice League.

There will be a reference to the 60s Batman series in memory of Adam West.

Someone will tell Flash "Run, Barry/Flash, run!"

The symbolism of "Come Together" (cover) in the first theatrical trailer

The refrain "Come together, right now, over me" has three points of importance: "Come Together", the assembly of the Justice League. "Right Now" denotes the urgency of the Apokalyptian threat. "Over Me" denotes the inspiration that Superman's Heroic Sacrifice had in causing the League to form; he's six feet under, and the League is formed in his honor.

The movie's soundtrack will include the theme song (either in its original form or re-orchestrated) from Tim Burton's Batman

It'd be a missed opportunity not to considering Danny Elfman is scoring the movie. All they need now is to get John Williams onboard and include the theme song from Superman: The Movie.

Darkseid in this universe isn't some giant rock-like monster or a man who merely uses brute force

He somewhat resembles a human, similar to Ares and how he looked in his human disguise. That way, the creators don't have to repeat the same story that will occur in this film.

Steppenwolf's invasion is a Xanatos Gambit by Darkseid

Steppenwolf is Apokolips's ruler in the DCEU, having killed Darkseid's father to take the throne. In turn, Darkseid wants the throne as well, but decides to go about it more strategically. He turns his uncle's attention towards Earth, revealing to him the Mother Boxes there. Steppenwolf goes to Earth with intentions to invade it, but heavily underestimates Earth's weird quirks, like its superheroes. Darkseid then traps his uncle there, knowing that he'll either be imprisoned or killed while he can continue his goal of searching for the Anti-Life Equation. It's only after Steppenwolf's defeat/death that Darkseid realizes that Earth is connected to the Equation, cementing his obsession with the planet once and for all and setting him up as the DCEU's Big Bad.

Abin Sur will be killed in the first act

To ensure that his invasion goes without interference from outside Earth, Steppenwolf will track down and mortally wound Abin Sur. The Lantern manages to escape, all the while discovering the New God's plan to attack Earth. Abin travels there, intending to warn the inhabitants but instead crash in the middle of nowhere. His arrival doesn't go unnoticed, as the crash alerts Bruce and Diana to Steppenwolf's impending invasion.

• Confirmed. Abin Sur died in flashback, during the age of heroes.

Near the end, during an epilogue, Hal Jordan will be sitting in his home, wondering what to do with the mysterious green ring that came to him.

• No Hal Jordan (or any other Lantern) debuts in the present time of the film.

Darkseid will be a Multiversal Conqueror like in the post-Flashpoint universe.

This Earth is just one of many to be visited by the armies of Apokalips. Some have had defenders who could fight the invaders off, e.g. post-Flashpoint Earth, while others have fallen, resisting in vain the unrelenting might of Apokolips without any help.

Steppenwolf will bring Superman under his control by altering his memories so that he thinks he is Darkseid's adopted son.

Kinda like what happened in "Legacy," the series finale of Superman: The Animated Series.

• That, or Superman will think the Justice League killed Lois, prompting a Call-Back to the Knightmare where Superman threatens Batman in a similar way.
  • Tossed; the Justice League revives Superman.

If Superman comes back Brainwashed and Crazy, Lois will repeat his last words to her in Dawn of Justice in some way to snap him out of it.

One possibility:

[Superman is attacking the Justice League when Lois appears]

Lois: Superman! Superman, stop! Clark! This isn't you! This is your world! You are my world, Clark.

[Superman stops and looks at Lois, slowly recognizing her]

Superman: ...Lois?

• Never brought up, mainly because Superman comes back distorted mentally. Lois is, however, the one that causes Superman to regain his personality, and it does involve him recognizing her.

Superman's first words as part of the team

• "This is MY world." Preferably directed towards Steppenwolf.
• "Burn." Another Pre Ass Kicking One Liner.

Superman will do a shirt rip

• His biggest costume change moment to date has been loosening his tie in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as a nod to his iconic habit. In this film, he'll have his Superman suit on underneath some other type of clothing; possibly an Apokoliptian robe. He'll rip open the outer layer as the camera zooms in on the symbol of the House of El, signifying the return of "hope".
  • Confirmed! The shirt rip and take-off is the final shot of Superman before credit.

The Kryptonite Spear

• If Superman comes back as evil, Bruce and Diana will talk about the spear as a way to subdue him. Bruce will say the Kryptonite needs to stay in Doomsday's heart to keep him from reviving. This, of course, will lead to a "conversation" with the League about how the spear was made, at which point Bruce will confess he made it to kill Superman. The League will start to question whether or not they can trust him, which will make it easier for Superman to become the leader (once he's not evil anymore).
  • Tossed - while Superman is hostile to the Justice League at first, it's because of a combination of the presence of Batman, Aquaman's rapid heartbeat from being anxious, and Cyborg's security protocols activating and launching a missile at Superman. The spear itself, however, is never brought up at all during the film. Superman instead takes the role of leader from Batman when offered it.

Diana will mistake Steppenwolf for Ares

Prompting Steppenwolf to affirm that the Greek Gods are indeed dead.

• Tossed. Diana recognized Steppenwolf from the legends passed down for centuries.

Alfred will say something more after the whole "He said you'd come" scene in the SDCC 2017 trailer

Like "Right, then" and "Give me a moment."

Alfred is the one who gives Superman his costume back

Maybe the League brings a not-quite-recovered Superman back to the Batcave. Once Supes fully regenerates, we get the infamous scene from the 2017 SDCC trailer, followed by Alfred going to get Superman's costume.

The "He said you'd come" scene from the SDCC 2017 trailer won't appear in the final film

Like how the shot of Spider-Man and Iron Man swinging/flying side by side in one of the trailers for Spider-Man: Homecoming never made it into the final cut.

The Fortress of Solitude

If Superman, as expected, is evil in the movie and turns good again, he'll need some time to recover from whatever turned him evil in the first place. At the very least, he'll need to get used to being alive again. With the League's help, he'll build the Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic to retreat to in times of distress.

If Superman becomes evil, he will be turned back by being reminded of Martha

Someone, say Bruce, will remind Superman of Martha in an attempt to turn him back to the side of good. Superman, confused, will asked him why did he say that name before being told it's the name of his mother. This will immediately make him realise that what he is doing is wrong and he will ally with the rest of the League.

• Tossed, he snaps from being resurrected and it's Lois who calms him down

Post-Release

The Bad Future in BvS was the result of something going wrong here had things been different.

• More specifically, Bruce having Lois around to calm Clark down after he's resurrected helped avert the Bad Future by remembering Barry's words that Lois is the key. Had he not had Lois, Clark would've ultimately sided with Steppenwolf's forces due in part to his post-resurrection haze.
  • Or maybe Bruce doesn't originally think Superman can be brought back. Steppenwolf though may have gotten the idea and brainwashed him following the Resurrection. With no vision, Bruce would have unaware of the threat. He would have ceased talking to Wonder Woman and have no interest in forming the League right after Superman's death. Steppenwolf would have had no interference in gathering the motherboxes and completing the unity. All it would have taken is just a few hours with no interference. But by having a heads up, Bruce was prepared and able to form a response team within hours of Steppenwolf's touchdown on earth.
    • Except Steppenwolf's reasons for the invasion is the Kryptonian's death, and in the finale, when he sees Superman he panics, and since he whines about his exile, and wants to win and complete his conquest, i.e. little scope for Loki-esque Byzantine scheming, there's no reason for him to do that.
    • Except A line of reasoning is that Superman always dies in that battle with Doomsday. So the Kryptonian is dead in the Nightmare timeline. Steppenwolf(or Darkseid) see a brainwashed Kryptonian as the perfect weapon. Besides the obvious power, you have the loyalty of humans who follow Superman like a religion. He panics in the movie because Superman is clearly on the side of the earth. No one is afraid of the big gun when they own it..
    • Doomsday only exists because Luthor muddled around with Zod's body, the Kryptonian Ship, and messed around with stuff. Then he contacted or was contacted by Steppenwolf in that deleted scene. None of this is addressed in the film (cf, Aborted Arc in the main page) but visual evidence suggests that there was a conspiracy between Luthor and Steppenwolf to unleash Doomsday on Superman and take him out. So I don't see how time-travel shenanigans make this more sensible...

  • The Doylist answer is that this stuff became an Aborted Arc, a retcon, or will be dealt with in the upcoming Flashpoint film. On a Watsonian level, none of it really makes sense.

Legion of Doom for future films.

• Alexander Luthor Jr.
  • Confirmed
• Deathstroke
  • Confirmed
• The Riddler
• Gorilla Grodd
• Cheetah
• Faora
• Giganta
• Black Manta
• Scarecrow
• Solomon Grundy
• Lex Luthor Sr.
• Zendaya
  • SHUT UP!!!
• Enchantress
• Dr. Poison
• Condiment King
• Ocean Master
• Black Adam
• Dr. Cyber
• The Trickster
• Sinestro, leading to his betrayal of the whole Legion once he gets his Sinestro Corps underway
• El Diablo
• The Joker
• Sinestro

A theory on how to recast Batman.

A future film could open with Ben Affleck's Batman fighting the League of Assassins around a Lazarus Pit. Batman suffers a mortal wound, falls into the pit, and his features change to those of a younger actor. He comes out of the pit and there you go!

• If they do Flashpoint, a giant Continuity Reboot a la X-Men: Days of Future Past or Terminator Genisys would solve their problems
• OP here. I was just talking about the possibility of Ben Affleck quitting, not the fate of the universe as a whole. Isn't this universe too young for a reboot?
  • The DCEU franchise is five movies long, one more than the original Batman series which got rebooted by Nolan, and one more than Superman after Superman Returns, so I would say the franchise is quite old already. I think recasting Ben Affleck is the least of their problems now. Recasting everyone other than Wonder Woman wouldn't be a big problem.
  • OP here. Some YMMV on this. The DC Films universe still feels awfully new to me. Man of Steel was created with the intention of making a Superman trilogy. Plans changed after it came out. The DC Films shared universe project released its first interconnected films in 2016. I don't think recasting "everybody other than Wonder Woman" is a feasible strategy, and Warner Brothers' stated plans don't fit with it. Their stated plans are Aquaman, (already filmed) Wonder Woman 2 (no barriers there) Shazam, (no barriers there) and Green Lantern Corps, (not cast yet). Eventually they'll get to Flashpoint, Cyborg, and Suicide Squad 2, but I don't think any of those movies will require recasting.
  • Given how they rush their films, and as you yourself mention shelved plans for a Superman trilogy, and how chaotic the productions have been, with fan feedback in a Pavlovian fashion leading to knee-jerk reactions and changes on the fly, I don't think DC really has commitment and follow-through. The reception of Justice League given the stakes, the build-up, the reshoots is disastrous. So I don't see how any further attempts at salvage will work out.
  • OP here. Hmm. I see what you're saying. But consider this. DC Films has lots of films on the table. Some take longer to get into production than others. Flashpoint seems to be one of the longer ones, since no one wants to direct it and it keeps changing scripts. By the time it comes out, Aquaman, Wonder Woman 2, Shazam, and Green Lantern Corps will already have been released. If they are received well, then there won't be anyone clamouring for a reboot by then. If they are all received badly, then Warner Bros. will probably just stop making DC movies (at least for a decade or so). Either way, a Flashpoint-fueled reboot seems unlikely to me
• It may actually prove MUCH simpler than all that. Remember, in the movie, Bruce reflects to Diana about how he's getting a BIT too old to keep at it for much longer. So...cue Bruce passing the mantle to Dick Grayson in Nightwing...?

Steppenwolf's relation to Darkseid.

Rather than being Darkseid's uncle, Steppenwolf is either his nephew or younger brother, possibly the former more so than the latter given Darkseid's relationship with his siblings.

The sequel will focus on Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman expanding the League to prepare for the final battle with Darkseid

Thus paving the way for characters such as Martian Manhunter, Shazam! and potentially Green Lantern.

• Maybe to avoid being too much of a retread of the first movie, the sequel could spend a lot of time on New Genesis and Apokolips, with only a bare minimum of Earth scenes (including the recruitment of the aformentioned characters).
• Ideally they should find a way to balance League films between cosmic, Earth, and magical threats the way the DCAU did, and the way the MCU handles it. They made a mistake using Steppenwolf because that means they are setting up two movies where most of the plot concerns stuff happening in outer-space (a problem that Avengers also faced when they teased Thanos at the end, and so they turned to Ultron and made the third Avengers to be a massive crisis crossover instead so as to make it fresh). The next League film should focus on a villain like Vandal Savage who in and of himself is a League-level threat, which has the virtue of making the conflict and stakes clear and also allowing for group dynamics (since one bad guy interacts with everyone).

Luthor's villain league will be...

• The major bad guys in another Justice League movie.
• The major bad guys in the next Superman or Batman movie.
• In their own movie, like a ramped-up Suicide Squad.
• The bad guys in a Suicide Squad/bad guy led spin-off.
• Working with Darkseid in the next Justice League movie.
• A Disc-One Final Boss in Justice League 2 that gets taken out before Darkseid appears, then teams up with their heroic counterparts to stop him.

Superman lost the race against Flash in the mid-credits

Supes ended up having to buy brunch for his teammates at iHop because he lost. He didn't pay for the brunch at all because he is friends with the manager who put it on the house. But his team doesn't know that.

Eobard Thawne killed Barry's mother

His dad is innocent.

Lex Luthor will Take a SERIOUS Level in Badass

One thing this troper has recently noticed is that how much a threat Luthor is seems to depend largely on whether he's in the role of businessman or super-criminal mad scientist. Now that he's gone from the former to the latter, he can start truly fulfilling his destiny as Superman's arch-nemesis. And since he already caused Kal-El's death in this version (albeit indirectly) just imagine where he could go from there. Hopefully he'll start by reverse-engineering the Kryptonian armors and Parademons that were left behind to create his iconic warsuit.

• And, in keeping with this Luthor's biblical fixation, he'll refer to the sources of the technology he used to make the suit - Darkseid, Superman('s homeworld), and himself - as "the father, the son, and the holy ghost" respectively.

The kid filming Superman in the beginning was either Billy Batson or Freddy Freeman.

New 52 established that Billy has a podcast, and the Shazam trailer that Freddy follows superheroes closely; the older kid sounds about 10-11 years old which is about right for the 2015-timestamped video if their movie takes place in December 2018. If it's Freddy the younger kid could be Darla.

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