Zack Snyder fans know that the director was peppering in Easter eggs and references to his earliest DC films, building toward a Justice League movie. Sharp-eyed fans watching Man of Steel back in the say saw very quick references to Lex Corp. and Wayne Enterprises, alerting rabid DC fans to the fact that Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne existed in the world Snyder was creating. Man of Steel apparently has a cool Watchmen cameo, as well – another reference to the director’s filmography. But one hint about the presence of the DC hero Martian Manhunter made its way into Man of Steel without Snyder really planning it. And he told the story behind the origin at SnyderCon on Friday in Pasadena.
Those of you who have watched all three Zack Snyder DC films – which has a few really good things going for them – know that in his extended cut of Justice League, the recurring character of General Swanwick (played by Harry Lennix), ends up being Martian Manhunter, a member of the eventual Justice League team. We first meet Swanwick as a contingent of the terrified military, reacting to the arrival of Superman (Henry Cavill) on our planet. Swanwick returns in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, then reveals himself to be the shape-shifting Martian Manhunter in Justice League. But when asked during SnyderCon when the creative team knew that Lennix’s Swanwick would also become Manhunter, Snyder confessed:
The conversations around Martian Manhunter started in post on BvS. Because when we were watching in the editor’s room, I was like, ‘You know, Swanwick… if you look at when Superman goes to the glass in Man of Steel, and everyone backs up except for Swanwick, that was the choice by the actor. I was like, ‘Oh, that's cool.’ And I was trying to decide whether that was wrong. But I liked it, and I was like, ‘No, that's cool. That's good. Yeah. Do that.’ And I think that really, in retrospect, inspired this whole possibility.
Sometimes that’s all it takes. An improvisational moment in a scene that seems meaningless, but it leads to the birth of a classic DC character who has been lying in the shadows of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, observing and wondering if he needs to step in and intervene. In case you haven’t seen Man of Steel in some time, here’s the scene to which Zack Snyder is referring.
Martian Manhunter ended up playing a significant role in the four hour Snyder Cut of Justice League, standing in for Green Lantern in the film’s final scene because Warner Bros. asked Zack Snyder to take the character out (as the studio had other plans for him). He became one of several DC characters added back into Justice League once Snyder was able to deliver his cut. And even though there are no concrete plans for the SnyderVerse to continue, we have plenty of exciting Upcoming DC Films on the horizon for fans to anticipate.
