Zack Snyder directed the Justice League Martian Manhunter reveal over Zoom

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The director explains how he virtually directed that Martian Manhunter reveal

Martian Manhunter in Justice League
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Zack Snyder has revealed that he directed a key Snyder Cut scene featuring Diane Lane and Martian Manhunter over Zoom.

Snyder has talked before about virtually directing Ezra Miller while the actor was on the set of Fantastic Beasts 3, and it turns out a similar thing happened with Lane. 

"We had to do it over Zoom because he's in England and I couldn't travel, so we just did it over Zoom. I only needed a couple of shots from him, but it was pretty crazy," Snyder explained to Pop Culture Weekly with Kyle McMahon. 

"I've never done that. I did Diane Lane the same way for her little [scene], where she comes out and does her Martian Manhunter cameo. That shot where she comes out the door and looks around, that shot we didn't have, so I had to get that," Snyder continued.

He added: "It was weird. They had me on an iPad on a stand so Diane could come over and talk to me. It was really weird."

In Zack Snyder's Justice League, it's revealed that Harry Lennix's General Swanwick is in fact Martian Manhunter in disguise. After a scene between Amy Adams' Lois Lane and Diane Lane's Martha Kent, Martha steps outside – and shapeshifts into Swanwick, who then morphs into his alien appearance.

Additional photography on the Snyder Cut didn't add all that much more to the movie, though the finished product is two hours longer than the theatrically released version. The extra footage appears to consist of at least this part of the Martian Manhunter reveal, as well as the Knightmare scene at the end of the movie – which saw the return of Ben Affleck's Batman, Ray Fisher's Cyborg, Ezra Miller's Flash, Amber Heard's Mera, Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke, and Jared Leto's Joker. However, this scene almost didn't make it to our screens.

If you're caught up on all four hours of the Snyder Cut, check out our deep dives into the movie below, and find how to watch DC movies in order for the ultimate movie marathon.

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Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.