Zack Snyder’s Justice League: There’s a path to a sequel if the stars align

Zack Snyder is talking openly with fans about his upcoming opus Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and during the IGN Fan Fest he admitted that the 4-hour movie ends with a cliffhanger. While this shouldn’t be a surprise – the movie was originally intended to lead to a whole new cinematic universe for the Justice League – it opens up more questions about what could have been and, perhaps more interestingly, what could be.

Snyder explained how the film’s ending ties into future movies and the direction he was planning for them after Justice League was done. “It was meant to be two more movies,” he told fans, clarifying that none of the sequel material appears in the Snyder Cut of the film. That means there were plans for the story to continue beyond Justice League, but at this moment the odds of a sequel are pretty slim.

The more intriguing side to this story lies in what could be. Snyder doesn’t seem to think that a sequel to his Justice League movie is part of Warner Bros’ vision:

"It hints, as you would, at a potential other world. I’d plant the seeds as I had wanted to of what would come in the later films. That’s in there, but as far as those stories that would be to come — if ever that happened, which it does not look like it would — but I think it’s easy to speculate based on that and we can talk about that for quite a while."

There could be a sequel to Zack Snyder’s Justice League if the stars align

Snyder doesn’t indicate that a sequel is happening, but he also doesn’t rule it out completely and that’s an important distinction.

If Warner Bros was looking to right the wrongs of the past, particularly amid all of the turmoil facing Joss Whedon, who took over for Snyder, then they might consider giving Snyder the green light to continue with his ideas and make the next movie.

But let’s be real for a moment. It’s not always about doing the right thing and we all know it. What will really pave the way for a sequel is money. If Zack Snyder’s Justice League blows HBO Max up and shows up well in whatever theaters that are open (particularly in foreign markets where HBO Max isn’t available) then Warner Bros might dish out a mea culpa and give Snyder the opportunity to continue what he’s doing.

Instead of another movie, Snyder and the cast might take the Marvel approach and opt for a limited series so that they can tell a six-hour story to wrap things up.

One of the challenges in coming back for a sequel is that the cast would need to be available, Warner Bros would need to put up the kind of money needed for the project and Snyder would have to be on board. Aligning all of those celestial bodies is something even Superman would struggle with, but the important thing to remember is that no one is saying “no” yet.

If Zack Snyder’s Justice League performs as well as fans hope it will, then there’s no way Warner Bros will rule out a sequel without at least trying to see if something can be done. The money would be worth it, and the potential for the sequel to incorporate The Flash movie could be a way to realign the DC Cinematic Universe once again.

As with all things, only time will tell. But a sequel to Zack Snyder’s Justice League is an intriguing possibility.