‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ Has A “Massive Cliffhanger”, Sets Up Post-Apocalyptic Sequels

Sadly for fans of the director, all of the #RestoreTheSnyderverse hashtags won’t amount to a continuation of his vision beyond Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The 4-hour film, which hits HBO Max in a couple weeks, gives Snyder the chance to make the version as he always wanted to. However, since he always intended for this to be just the beginning of a larger story, it also ends without a true resolution.

Speaking with IGN, Snyder says his Justice League ends on a big cliffhanger to a sequel that would’ve taken place in the post-apocalyptic “Knightmare” world we’ve seen visions of…

“What inspired [Joker’s] look was the sort of post-apocalyptic world that I’m a huge fan of and, really, the idea was that as the movies progressed, the next movie – if there ever was one, and it doesn’t seem like there ever will be – but if there was, it would exist primarily in that world with them trying to set it right,” explained Snyder. “[The sequence] doesn’t overstay its welcome but it definitely does what I needed it to do for the story and for us. Beyond that I think it’s a spoiler.”

“Well, [the original ‘Justice League’ plan] was meant to be two more movies… [The Snyder Cut] hints, as you would, at a potential other world. I’d plant the seeds as I had wanted to of what would come in the later films, so that’s in there, but as far as those stories that would be to come — if ever that happened, which it does not look like it would — but I think it’s easy to speculate based on that and we can talk about that for quite a while.”

Snyder added, “The movie ends in a massive cliffhanger.”

This shouldn’t come as any real surprise. We know that only one new sequence was filmed for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, with the rest comprised of the hours of footage Joss Whedon cut out and refused to use.

I’ve said before that I don’t think this is the end. While we probably won’t get the cast returning for sequels directed by Snyder, there’s always the chance of seeing his story done in animated form or, and this more likely, as a comic book.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League hits HBO Max on March 18th.

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.