Summary

  • Zack Snyder had plans to introduce a Thanos-like big bad in the DCEU, with the Flashpoint storyline as the endpoint for the shared universe.
  • The Flash was supposed to have a series of movies setting up Zoom as the villain, similar to Thanos' presence in the MCU before taking center stage in Flashpoint.
  • Snyder's plans would have addressed complaints of rushed storylines and lack of a central narrative in the DCEU, providing a mapped-out story progression and a defined beginning, middle, and end.

As the DCEU approaches its official end, new information reveals Zack Snyder's plans to give DC its own Thanos-like big bad. DC's shared cinematic universe has been on rocky ground for quite some time. Man of Steel was a promising, if not universally loved, re-imagining of the character that opened the door to a sprawling live-action universe. Snyder's follow-up, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, didn't receive the critical or fan acclaim that the premise should have, and the writer/director's vision for the DCEU's long-term got more complicated from there. Personal tragedy saw Snyder step away from Justice League mid-production, with Avengers director Joss Whedon taking over duties.

Significant rewrites and reshoots changed the narrative direction of not only Justice League but the DCEU as a whole. Snyder's vision was abandoned and, despite some individually well-received movies, the shared universe never really found a unified direction. While Snyder's grand vision of a DC cinematic universe will never come to life on-screen the way Zack Snyder's Justice League did. DC storyboard artist and animated Flashpoint movie director Jay Olivia has finally given insight into where Snyder's narrative was going (per Inverse), and it included a shadowy Thanos-like figure causing trouble from behind the scenes.

Flashpoint Was Always the DCEU's End Goal

Close up of Ezra Miller as The Flash looking over his shoulder

The Flash may have been a historic box-office bomb for DC, but it very loosely adapts a beloved DC Comics story: Flashpoint. Much like the movie, the comics' story sees Barry Allen travel to the past to stop his mother's murder and clear the name of his falsely-accused father. However, his meddling with the timeline causes unforeseen circumstances that ultimately lead him to undo his changes and allow his mother to die. The ways the DC timeline change in the comics are much, much more significant, most notably in that Wonder Woman's Themiscyra and Aquaman's Atlantis are engaged in a bloody, world-spanning war.

It appears that something much more narratively close to this was Zack Snyder's original DCEU plan, which would have unfolded across several Flash-centric and other DC movies. According to Olivia, Snyder's vision would have eventually resulted in a massive Flashpoint film that included the comic story's devastating Themyscira-Atlantis war. Even more interestingly, the movie was planned from the start to reboot the DCUE, giving the franchise a pre-determined endpoint to aim for.

Zoom Was Almost The DCEU's Thanos

Matt Letscher as Reverse Flash in The Flash Show

Instead of one singular movie, The Flash, under Snyder's vision, would have been a series of movies that set up Zoom as a villain, but he wouldn't have been the central antagonist until later. Per Olivia, Zoom would be "pulling the strings because he had come from the future to basically f*** with Barry." Much like Thanos in the MCU Phases 1-3, Zoom would appear or have influence across several DC movies, which would lead to the eventual, more comics-accurate Flashpoint. There, Zoom would take center stage as the man behind so many problems for The Flash and the rest of The Justice League.

Related: 10 Most Powerful DC Movie Villains

While it seemed as if Snyder was positioning Darkseid to be the "big bad" of the DCEU, the reveal that there would have been another villain operating in the background is reminiscent of Thanos setting up proxy wars with The Avengers before finally stepping in to take matters into his own hands. Importantly, Zoom is a villain that can deliver both large and small stakes. While he's capable of challenging the Justice League and threatening the timeline, his role in the death of Barry's mother would keep the conflict grounded as well.

Snyder's Zoom Plans Address Several DCEU Complaints

Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in the DCEU

After Batman v Superman rushed a Caped Crusader vs Man of Steel fight and adapted "The Death of Superman" far too soon, two common complaints about the DCEU were that major storylines were rushed and that the franchise lacked a central, uniting narrative. Indeed, Superman's death and resurrection happened both too soon and too quickly, and after the poor critical reception of Justice League, DC leadership seemed to scramble to change course and abandon Zack Snyder's plans. While movies like The Suicide Squad and Shazam! proved to be hits, they lacked any connective tissue besides often-awkward cameos.

Snyder's DCEU plans have a clearly mapped-out story progression, and while individual story elements may still have been rushed (Superman's death happened in one of his movies), the overall conflict would have had the proper time to develop. More importantly, everything seems as though it would have had a more tangible direction. More characters getting a series of movies to tell a multi-arch story, all leading up to a unifying culmination, lets the franchise have something rare - a defined beginning, middle, and end that's rare in superhero media.

Related: Zack Snyder's Original The Flash Plans Revealed, A Trilogy That Rebooted The DCEU With Flashpoint

Furthermore, Zoom's role in the DCEU would address complaints that The Flash never actually fought any of his memorable Rogues' Gallery members on-screen save for a very brief flashback scene. The Flash's villains may not have the household name recognition of Batman's, but characters like Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master, Captain Cold, and Heat Wave all have big on-screen potential. Putting a Flash villain behind the DCEU would be a welcome change of pace from DC media that's usually fairly Batman and Superman-centered.

Will The New DCU Use Snyder's Scrapped Villain Plans?

Darkseid in Zack Snyder's Justice League trailer

After several creative changes and diverging visions for the DCEU, the franchise as a whole is rebooting under the guidance of James Gunn and Peter Safran. The pair has already confirmed several DCU characters and set a schedule for movies and television series that will have a more clear direction than what's come before. However, while Snyder's canceled DCEU plans and Thanos-like villain are exciting, they won't be a part of the new DCU. While Gunn and Safran are keeping a few characters and projects from what's come before, it's clear that they have their own narrative plan.

However, not all hope is lost that more details will come out explaining the DCEU plans that never were. More details coming now is a good sign, and it's possible that Snyder and other creatives involved in the process will open up once a bit more time has been put between the present and their previous work.

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