Zack Snyder Discusses His Future With DC Movies, Reveals Scrapped 'Wonder Woman' History Photo

Director Zack Snyder is busy getting his four-hour miniseries cut of Justice League ready for a release on HBO Max. There are plenty of fans excited about this prospect, and some of them are so hyped that they're hoping this will let Zack Snyder follow through on his ultimate vision for the DC Extended Universe. But as many Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Max executives have indicated, this is very much a one-and-done deal, and Zack Snyder himself has now acknowledged that there are no plans for him to tackle any new DC Comics movies as of now.

Meanwhile, Zack Snyder's influence on the future of DC Comics in cinema will still be felt since he's responsible for casting Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. However, a photo that was initially used during the production of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has revealed that the character's history on the big screen was almost drastically different.

Get the lowdown on all of this from Zack Snyder below.

Continuing to hype the forthcoming extended cut of Justice League, director Zack Snyder sat down for an interview with Comic Book Debate. Discussion eventually turned to the director's potential future behind the camera for DC Comics movies, and Snyder said rather bluntly:

"Look, I never thought I'd be here doing this. I didn't think I'd be finishing Justice League... The truth is, and it's been widely reported, and I have no issue, this is an old movie. This is a years-old movie I'm working on. The DC universe has gone and branched off and done its own thing and that's fine... As far as what I did and as far as what my vision for what I wanted to do with these characters and the journey I wanted them to go on, it's well known that I planned on more movies — five movies or something — but I'm busy. I've got a lot going on. Is it cool that the fans have so much faith in the trajectory? Yes, it's amazing, and I couldn't be happier and I'm excited for them to see Justice League so they can really drink the entire elixir of Justice League. But would I continue? I have no plan to. But like I said, I didn't think I'd be here, so who knows?"

Regardless of whether Zack Snyder is busy, everyone at the executive level has indicated that there are no plans to craft any sequels in the wake of the director's cut of Justice League. At this point, the plans for the rest of the DC Comics franchises such as The Flash and Aquaman simply wouldn't match with Snyder's continuity. In fact, it's likely The Flash will act as a bit of a reboot for the entire DC Extended Universe since it will utilize the time-traveling Flashpoint storyline.

So instead, Zack Snyder's most hardcore supporters will have to settle for drinking "the entire elixir of Justice League."

Before Patty Jenkins gave Wonder Woman her own movie, she was introduced in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice by way of a photo showing her among a group of soldiers in World War I. However, the setting of the "war to end all wars" in the Wonder Woman movie hadn't been decided yet, so Zack Snyder used a placeholder photo with his own idea of where Diana might have appeared before emerging to fight Doomsday. That photo was finally revealed during Comic Book Debate's interview:

Here is a clear look at the pic shown during Zack's interview today, it was used as a placeholder in BVS and was taken before Patty was hired and took on Wonder Woman's origin Story.

Thanks boss @ZackSnyder for letting us share this.#UsUnited #ZackSnydersJusticeLeague pic.twitter.com/qeBFCev9MT

— NQ Cole & Nana (@TheNerdQueens) January 4, 2021

The photo used during production of Batman v Superman puts Diana of Themyscira into the Crimean War instead of World War I. Back in March this year, during a live commentary session for Batman v Superman that was done during the beginning of coronavirus quarantine, Snyder explained (via CinemaBlend) why they went with this setting initially:

"When we shot [Batman v Superman], we hadn't really finished the concept for Wonder Woman yet... Steve Berkman, who'd shot the image of Wonder Woman from World War I, we had shot that previous with an image from the Crimean War. Originally it had been the Crimean War because it was one of the early cons lists where photography was used, and I wanted to get the longest stretch possible. I think we originally talked about it even being the Civil War as a possibility. Just in our early conversations, we were like 'What would really show the distance?'"

But when Patty Jenkins came aboard Wonder Woman, she opted for World War I to be the setting for her movie, so the photo was replaced in post-production. The decision is probably better in the end, especially since it seems a little counterintuitive to have a compassionate hero like Diana posing in a photo with severed human heads. Sure, they might be the heads of her enemies, but as Wonder Woman illustrated, Diana is always trying to avoid conflict and sees the best in people, so even if she had to vanquish enemies in war, she likely wouldn't be standing proudly with the heads of her foes. In fact, Patty Jenkins mentioned this specifically when she recently addressed the complicated development of Wonder Woman.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman 1984 brought Diana into a more modern time...and there are no photos of her standing with the severed heads of failed hair bands from the decade, and that actually feels like a missed opportunity.