WB Want Martian Manhunter In Snyder’s Justice League

Topplaywriting – Warner Bros. was not told that the Snyder Cut planned to include Martian Manhunter and execs wanted him cut from the film. Warner Bros. reportedly did not want Martian Manhunter to be included in Zack Snyder’s Justice League due to other plans for the character. Once something audiences never thought they would see, Warner Bros. released Zack Snyder’s Justice League on HBO Max on March 18, 2021. The film was considered by many a major improvement over the theatrical cut the studio released in 2017, praised for its epic scope and inclusion of DC Easter eggs.

One of the big reveals in Zack Snyder’s Justice League was the identity of Martian Manhunter. In the film, the character first appears after having designed himself as Martha Kent to talk with Lois Lane, and transforms into his Martian form before turning into his human alter-ego General Swanwick from Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, played by Harry Lennix. The character then reappears at the end of the film as a hint of what was to come had Snyder’s vision for the DCEU continued as planned.

How Zack Snyder’s Martian Manhunter Compares To DC Comics With the introduction of Martian Manhunter in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, how does Harry Lennix’s version compare to the DC Comics version? Zack Snyder’s Justice League introduced J’onn J’onzz a.k.a. the Martian Manhunter, but how does his iteration compare to the DC Comics version? While it wasn’t always the plan, Harry Lennix got a bigger path in the DCEU after having initially played General Calvin Swanwick. In Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Swanwick became a supporting player as his working relationship with Lois Lane expanded. But when it came to the Snyder Cut, the filmmaker took Lennix’s part in a new direction. It wasn’t part of the original plan but Snyder ended up making Swanwick be the cinematic iteration of the beloved Justice League hero, Martian Manhunter.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Lennix’s Martian Manhunter is the latest live-action version of the character on-screen in recent years. This follows David Harewood who has been playing the popular DC Comics character on The CW’s Supergirl, as part of the Arrowverse since 2015. But it was a big deal for the Snyder Cut to include J’onn especially as Lennix didn’t even know that he would ever be playing that character. Had it not been for the changes made to the theatrical cut of Justice League, Lennix would have gotten his big Martian Manhunter moment in 2017. But through the HBO Max film, DC’s beloved Martian finally got his due, even though it might have been Lennix’s first and final time playing the superhero.

Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Films are not planning on continuing the Snyderverse following the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. But even if Snyder’s scrapped Justice League sequels don’t happen, it’s not necessarily the end of Lennix’s Martian Manhunter. While the DCEU still goes forward, it maintains a number of the same actors from Snyder’s original casting, so any future project could include the actor reprising his character, but that remains to be seen. With this being the first time J’onn has ever been depicted cinematically, how does Snyder’s version of Martian Manhunter in Justice League compare to the character’s DC Comics counterpart?

Rolling Stone regarding the behind-the-scenes conflicts of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, one argument arose on the status of Martian Manhunter. Sources say that the character was not in the original script of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and the studio was blindsided by the inclusion. Warner Bros. executive Walter Hamada reportedly requested Martian Manhunter be removed from the film, as they had different plans for the character. Snyder reportedly threatened to delete other footage if he was not allowed to include the character, but the director denies this claim, saying he would not have the ability to do so. Jason Kilar, then CEO of WarnerMedia, ruled in Snyder’s favor and allowed Martian Manhunter to be included in the film. For context, it is worth noting that Martian Manhunter was not originally going to be featured at the end of the film. The original plan was to include John Stewart as Green Lantern, and Snyder had cast Wayne T. Carr to play the character. Warner Bros. reportedly blocked this request, as they had plans for Green Lantern as well, and at the time it was reported that the concession was for Martian Manhunter to take the spot. The final scene of Zack Snyder’s Justice League with Bruce Wayne meeting Martian Manhunter was shot during the film’s reshoots, so it is likely it was not in the script and something Snyder added once the project got the green light.