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Snyder reveals plans for alternate timeline, Flash in scrapped Justice League sequel
If you thought Zack Snyder was done talking about his plans for the DCEU that never saw the light of day, then you've got another thing coming, bub. Over the weekend, the filmmaker sat down and provided a running director's commentary on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. While the video clocks in at over three hours, it is chock full of interesting tidbits about the comic book film.
One really interesting moment comes when Snyder breaks down Barry Allen's cosmic treadmill trip back in time to warn Batman (Ben Affleck) about Lois Lane (Amy Adams) being "the key." During this scene, the Flash (Ezra Miller) also implores Bruce to "find us" (meaning the Justice League) and informs Wayne that his fears about Superman (Henry Cavill) are indeed valid.
Per Snyder, all of this would've set the stage for a future Justice League movie, where he wanted the team to realize that Barry's warning in Dawn of Justice came too early. This prompts them to send Flash back to the past for the second time, which results in an alternate timeline.
"I had this idea that in the future when [the Justice League] are talking about sending Flash back in time to warn him [Bruce Wayne]," he said. "Cyborg, whose doing the calculation to send him back, would say, 'I have two possibilities of where to send Flash back in time. The numbers point to two moments to warn you [Bruce] ... Like if it's right near the moment where this event might happen—where Lois might get killed, or Bruce isn't able to stop it, however that's happening—it would be important if Flash came closer to that moment, so that Bruce could understand the reality of it."
Confused? Don't worry, things tend to mess with your mind when the space-time continuum is involved. According to CBR, Flash's short BvS warning ties into Snyder's plan for Justice League 2, where the team was going to fight Darkseid on Apokolips and lose. The villain was then supposed to kill Lois, corrupt Superman with the Anti-Life Equation, and takes over Earth. This would fulfill the apocalyptic "Knightmare" dream Bruce glimpses in Dawn of Justice.
Justice League 3 would've gone full Avengers: Endgame as the fractured team sends Allen back to a more critical period in time when Bruce has the ability to save Lois and prevent Darkseid from winning. Flash is successful and establishes a new timeline where the League, now whole and untainted by the stink of defeat, rebuffs Darkseid's invasion of the planet.
"And so, in the future Bruce says to Cyborg, 'Well, what times would you send me back [to]? What time right now would you send me back?' And [Cyborg] says, 'I'm leaning toward this.' And Bruce says, 'Do the other one, because you already sent me that one and it was too early, so send me to the other one,'" Snyder continued. "So that's how he's able to send [Flash] back again. Because in the new timeline, he goes to a different point in time that's closer to the event that we haven't seen yet in this film."
