'Zack Snyder's Justice League' Ending To Feature A "Massive Cliffhanger", Plus Details About Batman And Deathstroke

In just a few weeks, devotees of director Zack Snyder will finally be able to see what they've been desperately wanting for three years: his unvarnished vision of the comic book film Justice League. But if you thought the unlikely release of the "Snyder Cut" on HBO Max means that his most ardent fans would heave a contented sigh and move on to some other obsession for a while, think again.

The Zack Snyder's Justice League ending concludes with a "massive cliffhanger," according to the director, and I'm wondering if that will spark a whole new wave of fan response attempting to convince Warner Bros. to fund a sequel. Read Snyder's quote below, along with some other details about his four-hour movie, including the unexpected dynamic between Batman (Ben Affleck) and Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello).

During IGN Fan Fest this past weekend, Snyder told the outlet about the ending of the highly anticipated project: "It is a cliffhanger," he said. "The movie ends in a massive cliffhanger, yeah." That's in direct opposition to what a loud contingent of fans were claiming about the Snyder Cut in the early days – they were evidently convinced that there would be no cliffhanger ending setting up a sequel – but Snyder's confirmation lines up with what we've heard about this project since the beginning.

In the theatrical cut of Justice League, which was reworked by Joss Whedon, Joe Manganiello played a mercenary named Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke, who teams up with Lex Luthor in a post-credits sequence and teases the formation of an "Injustice League" of villains to counter the new team of superheroes. But the Snyder Cut changes things up significantly – and not only in the fact that this version of Deathstroke will be sporting a white mohawk.

"Joe's character in this movie when we find him, clearly he and Batman have struck some sort of a deal and they have a bit of a partnership," Snyder told IGN. "There's a bigger enemy, I guess...I think that's the big difference. They're not locked in mortal combat. They're actually working together to try to figure out how to make this world work."

I encourage you to visit IGN to read everything they learned about the Snyder Cut during their lengthy interview with Snyder, but a few things stuck out to me that I thought were worth highlighting here.

When asked if he would return to direct a Justice League 2, which Snyder himself has been downplaying as an extreme long shot that likely wouldn't happen, he didn't completely reject the idea: "That's very hypothetical. I think that I would say, I would believe it when I see it, and happy to cross that bridge when I see it approaching."

If a sequel were to happen, though, Snyder thinks it would primarily be set in the post-apocalyptic "Knightmare" setting from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: "What inspired [Joker's] look was the sort of post-apocalyptic world that I'm a huge fan of and, really, the idea was that as the movies progressed, the next movie – if there ever was one, and it doesn't seem like there ever will be – but if there was, it would exist primarily in that world with them trying to set it right," he said. "[The sequence] doesn't overstay its welcome but it definitely does what I needed it to do for the story and for us. Beyond that I think it's a spoiler."

Snyder's black and white version of the movie, the so-called "Justice is Gray" edition, will be released on HBO Max at some point after his colorized version hits the streamer – though it's unclear exactly the black and white iteration will debut there.

Zack Snyder's Justice League arrives on HBO Max on March 18, 2021.