Zack Snyder Cut A 'Batman V Superman' Scene For Being Too Dark, Believe It Or Not

Just when you thought Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice couldn't get grimmer or grittier or more x-treme, director Zack Snyder reveals that he had to cut one sequence because it was too dark. Yes, the director of the superhero movie that features executions, suicide bombings, sex slaves, gnarly underground fight clubs, abducted women with demeaning phrases written on their heads, and deeply unpleasant bathtub sex decided that one scene took things a little too far. Even Snyder has his limits, apparently.

The director spoke about the scene in a conversation with IGN and he's right – the whole thing sounds dark and horrible and completely out of character for a superhero movie. Which technically means it probably would have fit right in with the rest of Batman v Superman. Anyway, the scene deals with why Superman couldn't hear Lex Luthor's minions abducting his mother despite having super-hearing:

We had a scene that we cut from the movie where he tries to look for her when he finds out that Lex has got her. It was a slightly dark scene that we cut out because it sort of represented this dark side. Because when he was looking for his mom he heard all the cries of all the potential crimes going on in the city, you know when you look.

Let's pause here to consider that, earlier in the film, Superman heard Lois Lane getting into a sticky situation on the other side of the planet and rushed to her rescue. But let's continue:

I kind of like the idea that he's taught himself not to look because if he looks it's just neverending, right? You have to know when, as Superman, when to intervene and when not to. Or not when not to, you can't be everywhere at once, literally you can't be everywhere at once, so he has to be really selective in a weird way about where he chooses to interfere.

And yes, Zack Snyder. You are right. That is horrible and dark and should have been cut. Batman v Superman's take on this character was horrible enough without a scene that made it clear how many crimes Superman willfully ignores every single day. I'm reminded of my favorite scene in the underrated Superman Returns, where Superman flies into orbit, closes his eyes, listens to the world, finds someone in trouble and flies to the rescue. Not because the person in trouble is his girlfriend or his mom, but because he's Superman. And that's what Superman does.

I imagine the R-rated three-hour director's cut of Batman v Superman that is coming to Blu-ray and DVD will restore this sequence. Because why not? The film is already dark enough.