Movie Redo: My take on Batman's Insurgency from The Snyder Cut
While I was not crying out for more Snyder content, I was surprisingly impressed with Zack Snyder's Justice League. Yes, it is a long, and a little heavy on slow motion, but it had a vision that in my opinion, make his first two movies better. I don't think I connect with it in the same ways other do, but clearly it invokes passion.
While Zack Snyder's Justice League brought closure to a lot of DC fans, it brought a want for more from a lot of others, particularly in its closing scenes involving the Knightmare.
This battle between Batman, heroes, and an evil Superman has been teased throughout Batman vs Superman and The Snyder Cut. While I don't think this will ever truly happen, I want to focus on one aspect of the film that boggled my mind, the team that Batman assembles.
Batman assembles of team of heroes and villains to fight Superman, which in theory is a lot of fun and should be a team worth rooting for. However it is made up of (mostly in hindsight) some problematic stars and questionable choices in characters, none whom I believe could actually defeat Superman.
I want to go through the DCEU and make a team of heroes and villains that I think 1) would join up with Batman 2) would be able to put up a fight against Superman and 3) would make for an interesting movie.
Stipulations for myself are no heroes introduced after The Snyder Cut, as Zack would not have had access to them. So sorry, no Blue Beetle, no Supergirl, no Black Adam. But any heroes and villains introduced before then are fair game.
I also want to generally keep the same types of characters that are on the team. Let's say two villains, two younger heroes, and two Leaguers.
First, let's look at who is staying:
Keepers
Besides Batman, I only have the one.
I think having a Justice League member who remembers what Superman was like and to have Batman's back is a great idea. While I do love the Barry and Bruce relationship in comics and other media, Ezra Miller is not a person I can stand behind nor do I want to see in more movies for a long while.
Ray Fisher was done dirty by Warner Bros and Joss Whedon. He is a fantastic actor and plays my favorite character in Zack Snyder's Justice League. Bringing him along as both muscle and tech support makes sense. And given his technology being of alien origin, he may have a chance of actually putting up a fight against Superman.
In this film, I want Cyborg to represent the hope for Humanity. He has been taken over by something terrible, like alien technology, and has overcome it. Despite everything that has happened, Cyborg still believes they can save the world, and Superman. I think it would be a nice change of pace for the character and keep him at the heart of the film.
Now let's go on to the fun ones.
The Villains
The DCEU has a surprising amount of villains to choose from when it comes to people who would join the team. While both Joker and Deathstroke are fun fan favorite characters, I think for this cast, we can do better.
While I love the idea of Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke, he doesn't seem suited for a fight with the Man of Steel.
Similarly, Jared Leto's Joker seems like a pointless nuisance at best. Having a crash wild card on the team seems fun, but wrong direction.
Let's start with the obvious pick.
Lex Luthor
If we are doing a world where Superman truly goes evil, why not get help from the man who has been saying he would the Whole Time?!
I'm not a huge fan of Jesse Eisenbergs Lex Luthor, but in the post credits scene, he had seemed to calm down quite a bit, and seemed closer to the Luthor we know and love.
I still don't know if he entirely would nail it, but having Luthor on the team adds that same level of uneasiness Joker does while adding competence.
Luthor could have a chip on his shoulder with a lot of "I told you all" energy I love. And with his strong knowledge on Superman, and maybe a mech suit, he'd be incredibly useful against Superman.
I think we missed an opportunity to further Luthor's involvement in this universe in a fun and interesting way, and he should absolutely be a part of this team.
Ocean Master
While I did love the inclusion of Mera, I did not love the inclusion of Amber Heard. Having a violent Atlantean out for blood and vengeance for Arthur's death is a fun concept. Which brought me to his brother, Orm.
My hope is in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Orm comes to an understanding and love for his brother. If that were true, Superman killing his brother (and likely the world's oceans) would put him on a warpath with Orm.
I think Orm is one of those characters elevated by the actor playing him, Patrick Wilson. And given Wilson and Snyder have worked together, I think the collaboration is in order.
I think Orm is a good middle ground between Mera and Deathstroke, filling out both roles all while bringing an angry, violent energy to the team.
Heroes
While there are quite a few heroes in the DCEU, I tried to pick heroes Batman has not interacted with, or that would join his cause. Let's start with the bigger ask:
Harley Quinn
If we want to match that chaotic Joker energy, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is the better way to go about it. This would be reminiscent of the Injustice Games where she goes good, following Batman's lead as his second in command.
She can represent how far both she and Bruce have come, having put aside their differences, even forgiving her for the death of Robin. While I know she's not the truest hero, we only see her as a protagonist throughout her films, and I'd like to keep her that way.
While I don't think she's the most useful in a fight against Superman, I think she still adds much needed humor to the bruting team. Plus, we can give her a Kryptonite hammer and boom, she's in the fight.
I also want a character who can annoy Lex with her presence. I think those two would be at each other's throats the entire time.
And Finally:
Shazam!
If there is one thing Batman is known to do, it's recruit a kid. While we can't have the Black Adam/Superman match up the Rock so desperately wants, we can have a more competent Billy Batson on the team.
As a hero with similar powers and magic at his disposal, Shazam would be the most capable in a fight against Superman. In this version, he has lost his Shazamily, and now hones the power of all of the Council of Wizards, making him the ideal foe for Superman.
Batman not having an absolute tank on his team in the fight against Superman is insane. Shazam serves as Bruces back up plan incase they run into Superman. While he doesn't truly believe Billy can beat him, he thinks Shazam could sacrifice himself and save the others in time to come up with a true plan.
Levi can add comedy but mix in drama and sadness of his lost family. Levi's acting is often underutilized in the Shazam films, and under Snyder we may get some absolute gold.
Having a powerful Wizard, an Atlantean King, a Genius, a Motherbox enhanced Cyborg and one of the best members of the Suicide Squad on a team together led by Batman gives us not only a colorful cast of characters, but the DCEU a fighting chance against Superman.
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REBEL MOON (2023) | Zack Snyder Has Endless Movie And TV Plans For Rebel Moon: ‘We Can’t Really Hit The Bottom’
Zack Snyder has always thought big – and his original sci-fi saga will be no different. The director who curated his own corner of DC, who sent the heroes of Sucker Punch through multiple distinctive realities, and who saw a universe of stories that could emanate from his zombie tale Army Of The Dead, has a knack for creating expansive worlds that could pivot in all kinds of directions – and Rebel Moon is packed with potential expansions. The film originally began life as a Star Wars pitch; then it was picked up by Netflix where it became two movies, rather than compromising on a single three-hour flick; those films will now arrive in two forms, with additional harder-edged cuts to follow initial family-friendly versions. And that’s only the beginning.
As Snyder tells Empire, he knows exactly where Rebel Moon could go, with plans that extend far beyond these two movies. “When I pitched it to Netflix, the scale was a thing they wanted,” says Snyder. “They were like, ‘Well, how big could it be? How many movies?’ That made me go, ‘Okay, if we really do this, we can sink our teeth pretty deep into this. We can’t really hit the bottom.’”
He’s not kidding. The writer-director penned a 450-page Rebel Moon ‘bible’, detailing all kinds of lore and backstories pertaining to the evil Imperium. He has an expansive timeline that extends long before and after the two current films. (“This is the small board,” Snyder laughs of the version he shows Empire in his Pasadena offices. “The big board is over at my office on the hill. It’s three times the size of this.”) And all being well, much of it could end up on the screen – plans have been mooted for a TV series which would explore the history of Fra Fee’s Balisarius, the saga’s real Big Bad. And in a proposed third film, audiences will finally get to visit… well, the rebel moon. “The Rebel Moon is not the moon that they’re on,” Snyder clarifies. “The title was conceptual, but there’s a planet named Vanna, and Vanna is the rebel moon. It’s not even in one shot of this movie!”
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For now, there’s just the small matter of creating a massive, two-part original science-fiction epic, corralling a vast array of mercenary heroes, hissable baddies, unusual aliens, and a mysterious robot, set across multiple planets, spaceships, moons, and more. Or, as Zack Snyder calls it, the basics.
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