Justice League

This article is about the theatrical version of Justice League.

For the director's cut see Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Justice League is a 2017 American superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the follow-up to 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the fifth installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).^[5][6][7] The film is directed by Zack Snyder, written by Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon, and features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher as the title team, with Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, and J. K. Simmons in supporting roles. In the film, Batman and Wonder Woman recruit The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg after Superman's death to save the world from the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons.

Plot[]

Thousands of years ago, Steppenwolf and his legions of Parademons attempted to take over Earth with the combined energies of three Mother Boxes. They were foiled by a unified army that includes the Olympian Gods, Amazons, Atlanteans, mankind, and a Green Lantern. After repelling Steppenwolf's army, the Mother Boxes were separated and hidden in locations on the planet. In the present, mankind is in mourning over Superman, whose death triggers the Mother Boxes to reactivate and Steppenwolf's return to Earth. In an effort to regain favor with his master, Darkseid, Steppenwolf aims to gather the boxes to form "The Unity", which will destroy Earth's ecology and terraform it in the image of Steppenwolf's homeworld.

Steppenwolf retrieves the Mother Box from Themyscira, prompting Queen Hippolyta to warn her daughter Diana of Steppenwolf's return. Diana joins Bruce Wayne in his attempt to unite other metahumans to their cause, with Wayne going after Arthur Curry and Barry Allen, while Diana tries to locate Victor Stone. Wayne fails to persuade Curry, but manages to recruit an enthusiastic Allen onto the team. Although Diana fails to convince Stone to join, he agrees to help them locate the threat if he discovers their location. Stone later joins the team after his father Silas and several other S.T.A.R. Labs employees are kidnapped by Steppenwolf seeking to acquire the Mother Box from mankind.

Steppenwolf attacks Atlantis to retrieve the next Mother Box, forcing Curry into action. The team receives intel from Commissioner James Gordon leading them to Steppenwolf's army, based in an abandoned facility under Gotham Harbor. Although the group manages to rescue the kidnapped employees, the facility is flooded during combat, which traps the team until Curry helps delay the flood so they can escape. Stone retrieves the last Mother Box, which he had hidden, for the group to analyze. Stone reveals that his father used the Mother Box to rebuild Stone's body after an accident almost cost him his life. Wayne decides to use the Mother Box to resurrect Superman, not only to help them fight off Steppenwolf's invasion, but also to restore hope to mankind. Diana and Curry are hesitant about the idea, but Wayne forms a secret contingency plan in case Superman returns as hostile.

Clark Kent's body is exhumed and placed in the amniotic fluid of the genesis chamber of the Kryptonian ship alongside the Mother Box, which in turn activates and successfully resurrects Superman. However, Superman's memories have not returned, and he attacks the group after Stone accidentally launches a projectile at him. On the verge of being killed by Superman, Batman enacts his contingency plan: Lois Lane. Superman calms down and leaves with Lane to his family home in Smallville, where he reflects and his memories slowly come back. In the turmoil, the last Mother Box is left unguarded and Steppenwolf retrieves it with ease. Without Superman to aid them, the five heroes travel to a village in Russia where Steppenwolf aims to unite the Mother Boxes once again to remake Earth. The team fights their way through the Parademons to reach Steppenwolf, although they are unable to distract him enough for Stone to separate the Mother Boxes. Superman arrives and assists Allen in evacuating the city, as well as Stone in separating the Mother Boxes. The team defeats Steppenwolf, who, overcome with fear, is attacked by his own Parademons before they all teleport away.

After the battle, Bruce and Diana agree to set up a base of operations for the team, with room for more members. Diana steps back into the public spotlight as a hero; Barry acquires a job in Central City's police department, impressing his father; Victor continues to explore and enhance his abilities with his father in S.T.A.R. Labs; Arthur embraces his Atlantean heritage; and Superman resumes his life as reporter Clark Kent. In a post-credits scene, Lex Luthor has escaped from Arkham Asylum and then recruits Slade Wilson to form their own league.

Cast[]

Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman
Henry Cavill as Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman
Amy Adams as Lois Lane
Gal Gadot as Diana/Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/Flash
Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg
Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth
Diane Lane as Martha Kent
Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta
J.K. Simmons as Commissioner James Gordon
Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf
Amber Heard as Mera
Joe Morton as Silas Stone
Lisa Loven Kongsli as Menalippe
David Thewlis as Ares
Sergi Constance as Zeus
Aurore Lauzeral as Artemis
Julian Lewis Jones as the Atlantean king
Michael McElhatton as Black Clad Alpha
Marc McClure as Officer Ben Sadowsky
Billy Crudup as Henry Allen
Anthony Wise as Howard
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Detective Crispus Allen
Robin Wright as General Antiope
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor
Joe Manganiello as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke
Yoni Roodner as Russian Son
Molly Shenker as Russian Daughter
Tomi May as Russian Father
Kasha Bajor as Russian Mother
Katia Elizarova as a Russian bodyguard
Bruce Lester-Johnson as Nelson

Zack Snyder's Justice League[]

Main article: Zack Snyder's Justice League

The divisive reaction towards the final highlighted cut of the film, with Zack Snyder leaving directorial duties and the final cut of the film in the hands of Joss Whedon, has led to an argument comparing the situation to the one experienced by the film Superman II. Both Justice League and Superman II feature a director that was replaced, for different reasons, before completion of a film, which led to a second director coming in and making substantial changes to the tone of each film. Although the reasoning behind each director's departure differs, Richard Donner was able to complete his Superman II cut in 2005. In the belief that Snyder had shot enough material for a finished film, a campaign for a "Snyder Cut" was started to allow Snyder to receive a similar treatment to Donner. Arguments are made that Snyder's vision would be more cohesive to the previous films than the actual theatrical cut, which Snyder has refused to see. Warner Bros. initially remained silent regarding any intention of making a "Snyder Cut".^[183]

In March 2019, Snyder confirmed his original cut does exist, and stated that it is up to Warner Bros. to release it.^[184] In November, however, an insider claimed that Warner Bros. is unlikely to release Snyder's version of Justice League in theaters or on HBO Max, calling it a "pipe dream".^[185] In December, however, Snyder posted a photo in his Vero account, which showed boxes with tapes labeled "Z.S. J.L Director's cut", and with the caption "Is it real? Does it exist? Of course it does."^[186] On May 20, 2020, Snyder officially announced that HBO Max will be releasing his cut of Justice League on their service in 2021.^[187] The cut will cost $20–30 million to complete the special effects, musical score, and editing, and will be either a four-hour film version or six-part television miniseries of Snyder's original vision of the film.^[188] It was also revealed that Cavill, Affleck, Gadot, Fisher, Miller, and Momoa would be returning to help complete the project.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

This is the fifth film in the DC Extended Universe.
This is the sixth lowest grossing DCEU film after Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, Shazam! and Black Adam.
This is the first theatrical film centering on the Justice League.
Barry Allen says he knows sign language, specifically gorilla sign language. One of the Flash's most famous enemies is Grodd, an intelligent telepathic gorilla.
Extensive reshoots in London and Los Angeles in mid-2017 added a cost of approximately $25 million to the film's budget. Henry Cavill worked on the reshoots and Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) at the same time. He had to sport a mustache for his role in the latter project, however Paramount refused to let the actor shave it off for the time he played Superman again. This meant that Cavill's facial hair had to be digitally removed in post-production.
Director Zack Snyder and his wife, producer Deborah Snyder, stepped down from finishing the film after the suicide of his daughter in March 2017. They tried to remain on the film as a way to work through the difficulty, but decided after two months to step away from the project to spend time with their family. Joss Whedon, who had signed on for Batgirl, took over as director, managing additional scenes that need to be included in the final cut. Warner Brothers have stated that Joss would direct and write in the same style as Zack so there won't be any tonal shifts or obvious changes in style. However, Whedon controversially fired Snyder's composer, Junkie XL, and replaced him with Danny Elfman.
Due to the running time backlash of past DC movies, Warner Bros demanded a film under 2 hours without credits. The final running time for Justice League is 119 minutes.
One of the Gotham scenes during the prologue has a building with "Janus" written on it. This refers to Janus Cosmetics, run by Batman's enemy the crime boss Black Mask. Black Mask appeared in Birds of Prey.
Zack Snyder and Ray Fisher both stated that Cyborg was going to be the heart of this film. However, when Joss Whedon was hired for reshoots, most of Cyborg's scenes were cut.
Billy Crudup plays Barry Allen's (The Flash) father Henry in this film. However, before appearing in the DC Universe, Crudup initially auditioned for and was a top contender for the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins (2005) before Christian Bale was cast. Crudup also portrayed a DC Comics superhero (Dr. Manhattan) in the film Watchmen.
The superheroes are never actually referred to as "The Justice League" in the movie.
Laurence Fishburne was asked to reprise his role as Perry White for a cameo, but scheduling conflicts with other projects made him unavailable on the day filming was supposed to take place.
When Cyborg says "Booyah" he's saying his catchphrase from the cartoon series Teen Titans (2003)
Marc McClure (Officer Ben Sadowsky) previously played Jimmy Olsen in Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), Superman III (1983), Supergirl (1984) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
Ben Affleck was considered to direct this film.
When the three DC main heroes (Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman) make their first public appearance in the film, a part of their theme music from their respective films (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Batman (1989), and Superman (1978) plays.
This film took one decade to come to fruition. A Justice League film entitled "Mortal" was scheduled to be released in 2007, but it got shelved.
Bruce Wayne is said to have been operating as Batman for twenty years when the movie takes place. It matches with the 20th anniversary of Batman & Robin (1997).
This film was released on the 25th anniversary of The Death of Superman comic, which was released November 17, 1992; and the 16th anniversary of Justice League (2001) which premiered its first episode November 17, 2001.
This is the third live-action appearance of the Justice League after the failed TV pilot Justice League of America (1997) and Smallville (2001).
The scene in which Barry Allen/The Flash is grumbling that Bruce Wayne/Batman is sitting in his second favorite chair is an inside joke about "Sheldon's Spot" from The Big Bang Theory (2007). Sheldon is a big fan of The Flash and Cisco Ramon, ally and friend of The Flash also wears t-shirts with Sheldon's quotes in TV series The Flash (2014).
This movie brings together Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg. Mera shows up in the film, but is not on the team.
Joe Morton, who plays Silas Stone in this film and the father/creator of Cyborg, also starred in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). In both movies, he uses futuristic technology that in turn lead to the creation of cyborgs with metal parts and red eyes: the Terminators themselves in Judgement Day, and Cyborg his son in Justice League.
This was the shortest DCEU film until the release of Birds of Prey (2020), which is approximately 10 minutes shorter.
Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski were, at one point, considered to direct this film.
Ben Affleck's third time playing Batman/Bruce Wayne (following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016).
Ben Affleck and J.K. Simmons previously appeared together in the films Extract (2009) and The Accountant (2016).
Ciarán Hinds is the third actor from the Harry Potter franchise to join the DCEU, following David Thewlis (Ares) and Ezra Miller (Barry Allen/Flash). Gary Oldman was another actor to have starred in a DC, as Jim Gordon in the Dark Knight trilogy, but the movies were set in a different universe.
Joe Morton who plays Silas Stone in this film also portrayed a scientist in several episodes of "Smallville".
The second time Ezra Miller and Billy Crudup have worked together. The first was The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015).

Justice League
Justice League (2017), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

DC Extended Universe

Batman (1943), Batman and Robin (1949), Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Suicide Squad (2016), The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Justice League (2017), Joker (2019), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), The Batman (2022), The Flash (2023), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), The Batman: Part II (2025) The Brave and the Bold