Justice Con: How 'Elseworlds' changes everything about the future of the Snyder Cut of 'Justice League'
Justice Con has had a number of revelations about the eagerly anticipated Snyder Cut of the hugely divisive 'Justice League' movie. One of them is yet more confirmation that Zack Snyder does not see his films as belonging to the current DCEU films and the scope of what his plans could contain for the future of DC films can be summed up in one word: "Elseworlds." A phrase that the fans are intimately familiar with was revealed to have been used by Snyder himself in an interview and it could be a very big deal for those fans invested in what's come to be known as the "Snyderverse."
During a panel at Justice Con, 'Sean O'Connell & #ReleaseTheSnyderCut Book Panel,' Managing Direct of Cinemablend and author of a book that chronicles the road that led to the release of the Snyder Cut, spoke about an interview he did with Snyder. Keeping most of the details under wraps until the book's release, O'Connell was still able to reveal the one story he thought had major significance in terms of the Snyder Cut 'Justice League' release.
O'Connell and Snyder were talking about the Snyder Cut of 'Justice League' and its place in the DC Extended Universe and whether it connected to the other DC films. According to O'Connell, Snyder said that the direction that the DC Universe is taking is "really cool," but that "this is an Elseworlds Justice League."
'Elseworlds' was an imprint by DC Comics that was started in 1989. Up to that point, the comics publisher had done a number of "Imaginary Stories" that had been a huge hit with the fans. With the 'Elseworlds' imprint, DC Comics made that kind of storytelling a regular thing, beginning with 'Gotham by Gaslight,' a steampunk Victorian vision of everyone's favorite Dark Knight. Some of the more popular stories from that era included tales that saw Batman become a vampire; Superman, if he was raised by Darkseid or the Russians and even a look at how the world would have changed had Superman's rocket never been discovered by the Kents: a world without Superman.
O'Connell really wanted to drive home the importance of that reference and why it's even more significant than Snyder's mention of his films falling under a "Snyderverse" continuity. "He referred to the project as 'Elseworlds Justice League,' which to me means...it's broken apart from what the DCEU narrative was," said O'Connell. "It allows you to tell a story using DC characters that's not beholden to anything else that's in canon, essentially."
While the movies have always put their spin on the comics in terms of plot, they always adhered to the source material as far as cinematic sensibilities let them. The 'Elseworlds' label, however, means that all bets are off - Snyder's vision of the DC Universe can spin into anything. Maybe Batman dies and Wonder Woman takes up his mantle. Maybe Cyborg gains access to the Speed Force. Maybe Deathstroke joins the Justice League, and Superman goes evil in a permanent way. There is no limits to the kinds of stories that can be told once the 'Elseworlds' label is established - DC's heroes have no need to adhere to their iconic characteristics.
This gives an incredible amount of freedom to a director and what's more, allow Snyder to continue the stories of the Snyderverse despite the current DC films having moved beyond them. Given that the DCEU appears to already be moving past Snyder's canon with an all new Batman, played by Robert Pattison, it would appear that any shared universe going forward is different from the one we saw in 'Justice League.' 'Elseworlds' allows for 'Justice League' to have a sequel it might not have ordinarily gotten and gives another chance for Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill to return as Batman and Superman, respectively.
That, of course, is only the start of the possibilities that a simple word - 'Elseworlds' - opens up the door for. Given how much the fans have made this film a reality, it's easy to imagine just how far Snyder can take his unique brand of superhero storytelling if the Snyder Cut proves to be as successful as everyone hopes.
You can watch the entire panel discussion here. The Snyder Cut of 'Justice League' is expected to release in 2021, on HBO Max.