Zack Snyder Fans Launch Justice League Campaign To See Axed Green Lantern Scene
Zack Snyder may not be the most beloved director when put next to names like James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese, but he seems to have the most dedicated fans in the industry. They came to his defense after the disastrous release of the Joss Whedon-altered version of "Justice League" and began a campaign for the studio to release the cut of the film originally envisioned by the "300" director. Of course, that ultimately ended with the release of the "Snyder Cut," a much more well-received version of the film. Now it seems the Snyder loyalists are at it again with a new campaign on X (formerly known as Twitter) to see a never-before-seen Green Lantern clip.
The hashtag for the campaign, #ReleaseTheGreenLanternScene, is trending on the platform and looks to pressure Warner Bros. to release the filmed but ultimately scrapped final scene that would have seen John Stewart, played by Wayne T. Carr ("Stupid Cupid," "Chicago Med"), meeting with Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). The actor himself commented on what was then Twitter, back in May 2022, that he was originally going to play an important part in "Justice League 2" and "Justice League 3." He also said that until he hears otherwise from Snyder, he will remain hopeful.
While the campaign was labeled in another post on X as trending, with nearly 6,000 reposts on the platform and a concept video showing what the scene might look like, it has an uphill battle as the studio is presumably more focused on the upcoming DC projects like sequels to "Joker" and "The Batman," along with the upcoming Gunniverse. But it does raise the question as to why the studio would cut the scene to begin with.
Green Lantern was replaced with Martian Manhunter
Truth be told, Warner Bros. didn't actually cut the scene; they had it changed. When Zack Snyder brought the scene to the studio, he was told he couldn't use the character because they were working on their own Green Lantern project and wanted to make their own announcement. The compromise was that they would allow him to use Martian Manhunter instead, which is the scene we got at the end where Manhunter (Harry Lennix) met with Bruce Wayne. But the passionate director wasn't taking that lying down.
During an interview by Justice Con (as reported by MovieWeb), Snyder threatened to quit if he wasn't able to use the scene. "I said that I would quit if they tried to take it out. And I felt bad. The truth is I didn't want the fans to not have a movie, just based on that one stand that I was going to take... And the Green Lantern was John Stewart. And that was part of it too. I was like, I don't want to take a person of color out of this movie. I'm not going to do it... But then, I felt like having Harry Lennix's Martian Manhunter at the end ... was okay."
Of course, we will likely never get to see Carr's take on John Stewart, but at least we got to see the scene play out with another character that has been long overdue for a live-action appearance. Even as the franchise is set for a relaunch, there is still no Stewart in sight.
Nathan Fillion is suiting up for James Gunn
While the two most popular characters to wear the ring from Planet Oa are Hal Jordan (played by Ryan Reynolds in 2011's "Green Lantern") and John Stewart (made popular by his role in the animated classic "Justice League" series), they aren't on the docket for the Gunniverse. In true James Gunn style, he is going with a lesser-known version of the character. Guy Gardner is set to be played by frequent Gunn collaborator Nathan Fillion.
While we are going to miss the two more popular Lanterns at the beginning of the franchise, there are some things to look forward to. First off, Gardner (and Fillion, for that matter) may be the perfect Green Lantern for "Superman: Legacy." His more off-the-cuff demeanor and his penchant for telling the brutal truth is going to be the perfect antithesis to David Corenswet's Superman. And he is also going to be the perfect representation of what we can expect from Gunn.
Wayne T. Carr is still a great choice for John Stewart, and just because we aren't seeing the character in the first appearance of the Lanterns in "Superman: Legacy," that doesn't mean we won't be seeing him or Hal Jordan (who was voiced by Fillion in the animated films) in the near future as Gunn looks to create a sprawling universe of characters. In the meantime, the best we can hope for is a deleted scene on a rereleased BluRay.