Zack Snyder’s Justice League trilogy would have ended with Superman’s son becoming Batman

Ben Affleck as Batman in Zack Snyder's Justice League
(Image credit: Warner Bros./HBO Max)

Zack Snyder has revealed more about his plans for future Justice League instalments – including the surprise character arc that would have seen Superman’s offspring become the new Caped Crusader.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Snyder revealed that one of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments in Zack Snyder’s Justice League – Lois Lane’s pregnancy test – was leading somewhere.

"It was going to be Lois and Superman’s son," Snyder said of what would have been a Justice League 3 reveal. "He doesn’t have any powers, and then he was going to end up being the new Batman."

Then, a time jump: "Twenty years later, on the anniversary of [Batman’s] death, they take young Bruce Kent down to the Batcave and they say, ‘Your Uncle Bruce would’ve been proud if you did this."

Yes, Batman dies in Snyder’s grand plan. The Justice League trilogy would have included a Darkseid invasion in Justice League 2, the Justice League fighting back, and Bats making the ultimate sacrifice.

Snyder explains that Batman would have died saving Lois Lane – a callback to Flash’s travels back through time, warning Bruce in Batman v Superman that "Lois is the key." Superman, happily, would then not have fallen to Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation in the sequel and the ‘Knightmare’ timeline would have been overwritten by one where young Bruce Kent wears the cowl.

It’s a story that may never come to pass – but it gives fans something to cling to in the faint hopes that the Snyder Cut movement gets a redux.

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Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.