Batman v Superman’s Knightmare Will Make Sense After Snyder’s Justice League

The Justice League Snyder Cut will help explain Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice‘s Knightmare scene, one of the film’s most confusing sequences. Shortly after the release of Man of Steel in 2013, writer-director Zack Snyder began formulating a plan for the DC Extended Universe. His vision accounted for five films, and he planted seeds for where the movies could go early on, even if plenty of viewers didn’t catch the references or even understand them.

After Justice League was taken away from him and heavily retooled to go away from this vision, Snyder has now been given a chance to release his version of the DC team-up movie. HBO Max will be the exclusive home of “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” when it arrives in 2021, whether as a four-hour-plus film or a miniseries that keeps viewers coming back for more. When the Snyder Cut does arrive, it will be a very different Justice League story than the one audiences saw in 2017, as Snyder will add in deleted characters, subplots, and much more to continue his vision.

Although this new version of Justice League still won’t be what Snyder and co-writer Chris Terrio originally planned when writing the script, the Snyder Cut will be a much more cohesive evolution of their plans. Snyder has already confirmed that Darkseid will be making an appearance in his cut of Justice League, something that will set the stage for what he planned to be Justice League 2. The Snyder Cut won’t just give viewers a better understanding of what Snyder wanted to do next, though. Thanks to the details he will bring back to Justice League, the film can also make sense of the Knightmare scene from Batman v Superman.

Batman v Superman’s Knightmare Scene Explained (As Best As Possible)

The Knightmare scene in Batman v Superman comes one night when Bruce Wayne falls asleep in the Batcave and begins having a vision of the future. Batman is shown in an apocalyptic landscape where Darkseid’s Omega symbol is burned into the ground below him. He is one of the last active heroes in this future and is attempting to acquire Kryptonite so he can defeat Superman. The latter has turned to help Darkseid after succumbing to the Anti-Life Equation (which eliminates free will). Batman is shown fighting Parademons in this apocalypse and is captured by Superman’s soldiers. Batman is then chained up with other criminals and watches as Superman kills them with his laser vision, but the vision ends before the Man of Steel kills the Dark Knight.

This vision of the future that Batman has is the direct result of Flash traveling through time. A future version of Barry Allen (equipped with a new suit) appears in front of Bruce through the Speed Force and warns him that he must save Lois Lane. Barry says Lois is “the key” but then figures out that he is “too soon” and that Bruce doesn’t understand the meaning of this warning. Before he leaves, though, Barry tells Bruce that he was always right about Superman, and he should be feared. His final words are: “Fear him and find us. You have to come find us, Bruce!” Despite the confusion that this sequence caused initially, Snyder has revealed more details about what exactly is happening here.

Snyder intended to fully explore the Knightmare timeline in Justice League 2. The sequel to his version of Justice League would’ve included multiple scenes during this point in the DCEU, with part of the story revolving around Batman, Flash, and Cyborg building a cosmic treadmill for Flash so he could travel to the past. It’s determined by Cyborg that there are two places where Flash could go back in time to and deliver this warning. As evident by Batman v Superman, he ended up in the wrong place and time at first. Flash’s time travel mistake would then explain his “too soon” comment, while the rest of the time spent in this timeline provides more context for this mission. Even though it is unclear if Snyder will have the opportunity to tell this part of his story and make Justice League 2, the good news is that the Justice League Snyder Cut will help explain the Knightmare scene.

How Justice League Explains The Knightmare Further

The entire set up for the Knightmare timeline is included in the Justice League Snyder Cut since it’s confirmed that Darkseid will be included. Although Snyder had to scrap the original ending for his film (where Darkseid killed Lois, setting up Superman’s evil turn in the sequel), Justice League will include a young Darkseid, known as Uxas, invading Earth for the first time. A version of his previous attempt to conquer Earth was featured in the theatrical cut of Justice League with Steppenwolf replacing Uxas, but now the future ruler of Apokolips will attempt to conquer Earth himself. This will help set up the Knightmare scene by showing how Darkseid came close to enslaving humanity thousands of years before, giving audiences a feel for how he later can decimate the planet with Superman on his side. The history lesson sequence will also introduce the Anti-Life Equation to aid this cause further.

Another way that the Justice League Snyder Cut will set up the Knightmare scene is by having Flash use time travel in Justice League‘s third act. In the Snyder Cut, the Justice League initially fail to stop Steppenwolf’s invasion of Earth and the formation of The Unity, leaving Barry to go back in time to give them a redo. This would be the first time that Flash time travels chronologically, paving the way for his skills to be used in the future if need be. Thanks to Batman v Superman, it’s already known that he will have to time travel again, but now Justice League will help establish that this is something that Flash can do.

Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League was also going to include at least a glimpse of the actual Knightmare timeline too. In 2018, Screen Rant exclusively debuted storyboards from the Snyder Cut showing Darkseid on a throne and an overview of the Knightmare future from the Mother Boxes. The shots designed by Snyder reveal that the Hall of Justice has been destroyed in this timeline and then shows the apocalyptic setting, with Darkseid’s Omega symbol in the ground. Since Snyder shoots everything that he storyboards, it is believed that this will be included in the Snyder Cut. Where it will take place is not yet known, but it could be near the end of the film to tease fans what the DCEU will look like when Darkseid does arrive. With these critical pieces of set up already known, the Knightmare sequences in Batman v Superman shouldn’t be as confusing once the Justice League Snyder Cut is released.

About The Author

Cooper Hood
(5627 Articles Published)

Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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