Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released four years ago at a time when the DC Extended Universe was still fairly new. The film did well, financially, earning $873 million (USD) worldwide. Nevertheless, it was a mixed bag on the critical front as many found it to be a dour outing that seemed to have rushed on world-building. The film, however, has continued to spur conversations among the fandom to this date, with many different interpretations and theories being spawned with regard to the actions and motives of the characters in the movie.
Zack Snyder had a blast hosting his own online commentary on the social media app Vero recently when he live-streamed the Ultimate Cut of Batman v Superman on his account. During the commentary, the director revealed loads of filmmaking trivia including one where he told of Ben Affleck’s daredevil leap from a helicopter which got him in trouble with the stunt coordinator. Nonetheless, he also delved into another scene featuring the actor which is one of the more head-scratching moments in the film: the Knightmare sequence (via THR).
The scene in question begins with Bats Rockatansky (sorry*) glancing over a ledge on Apokalips as flames mushroom over the horizon. It quickly escalates into a chaotic battle with Parademons before Bruce is captured and subsequently death-stared by Superman. The sequence then comes to a jolting halt as Bruce wakes up from this other-worldly dream, only to be blinded by flashes of lightning along with Barry Allen’s gentle pleas. What in the blue heck was going on?
Now, according to Snyder’s commentary, the Knightmare sequence is a by-product of Flash using the cosmic treadmill and splitting the essence of time itself. He also explained that a scene in a later film would have had Bruce Wayne and Victor Stone discuss what would be the best time vector to commit to in order to send The Flash back to prevent Lois Lane’s demise. Superman becomes corrupted by Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation due to his lost love, thus creating a chain of events which would lead to the Knightmare reality.
This lines up with Zack Snyder’s initial zany ideas for the Justice League two-parters which he touched on last year. There was a whole plot involving time travel which is interesting particularly because a certain other superhero event film utilised that device. However, the final product for the 2017 film was devoid of such shenanigans, with the script being reworked after the director stepped down from the project mid-production.
Nonetheless, Snyder’s explanation for this Knightmare sequence has cleared up some doubts. It is indeed an alternate future, one born out of darkness and despair. The symbol of ‘hope’ would have been lost. While it would not make sense now due to Snyder’s vision being discarded, at least we now comprehend the context behind the sequence.
As for his ongoing musings on the mythical Snyder Cut, the director jokingly teased at the end of the live stream, saying that he wishes to catch up on “these guys” in the future.
How many of you would truly like to see his Snyder Cut come to fruition? Leave your #petitions in the comments.
