Chatting with Alfred
This scene was first glimpsed at the end of the Comic Con trailer, where Alfred Pennyworth looks to be tinkering in the Batcave. After hearing a pair of loud thuds off in the distance and seeing the ripple effects in his glass of Scotch, Bruce Wayne’s trusty butler looks up and sees…someone. He then tells our mystery guest(s), “You said you’d come. Now let’s hope you’re not too late.” There are a few alternate candidates as to who Alfred’s talking to here, namely a pair of Green Lanterns (seeing as there’s actually two separate thuds heard.) But that of course would’ve entailed an entire sideplot that at least alluded to those characters still being around, since the only Lantern we see in Justice League appears unnamed in the flashback to the original battle with Steppenwolf.
From what we can gather, Alfred is almost certainly talking to the resurrected Superman here, probably just before he heads off to join the final fight against Steppenwolf. When exactly Supes had said he’d come, we’re not sure, but this looks like a fun (if not entirely necessary) scene that could make its way onto Justice League’s Blu-ray.
“I’ll take that as a yes”
Justice League did indeed feature a scene between Clark Kent and Lois Lane on the Kent farm in Smallville, but the version seen in theaters began very differently than what we saw in the final Justice League trailer that released last October. The teaser actually kicked off with a scene in which Lois approaches her recently resurrected beau in that same cornfield, where he charmingly states, “I’ll take that as a yes” in reference to the engagement ring she’s wearing. It’s a genuinely heartfelt sequence, one that’s welcomingly accompanied by Hans Zimmer’s main theme from Man of Steel.
The iteration we saw on the big screen, meanwhile, jumped straight to Lois asking Clark how he was feeling, and what it’s like to be alive again. Zimmer’s score is sorely missed in the final version, which also featured a lot of Henry Cavill’s infamous CGI lip (another obvious negative). It’s possible that Warner Bros. will include the alternate take on the Smallville scene we glimpsed in the final trailer, though we wouldn’t expect to hear Zimmer’s Man of Steel theme playing over it.
Help me, Man of Steel, you’re our only hope
While this scene may not have featured Superman in the flesh, we’re going to count it because it clearly would have revolved around him. As featured in several trailers, this shot sees Bruce Wayne looking up at a hologram of the Big Blue Boy Scout, presumably before he’s managed to bring him back from the dead.
It’s entirely possible that this glimpse isn’t from a scene at all, and is rather just a quick shot of the Dark Knight looking a computer generated image of his fallen frenemy. If it is from an actual scene, it could be a sequence that served to flesh out the rationale behind Bruce’s overwhelming desire to resurrect Superman. It could also be from a cut scene where he attempts to sway his fellow League members in the debate over whether or not they should attempt to revive the Man of Steel.
One of Justice League’s greatest shortcomings was its lack of character development, so any additional footage of the team interacting or of Bruce’s motivations would be a welcome inclusion on the Blu-ray.
Fortress of Solitude
Here’s one sequence we know will be included amongst the deleted scenes, as it was first revealed in the recent announcement trailer. In it, we see Henry Cavill’s Superman standing in a smoke-filled room within the Fortress of Solitude, presumably having just thrown on his shiny new costume. In addition to providing an explanation for one of the film’s more trivial plot holes, it will seemingly serve as a connecting tissue between Clark and Lois’ cornfield scene and Supes’ arrival at the final battle over in Russia.
That may seem a bit insignificant, and to the story, it probably is. But the interesting part about this scene making its way onto the Blu-ray is that it actually appears to be a scene that was directed by Zack Snyder. Unless this is Joss Whedon doing his best to impersonate his predecessor’s aesthetic, this could very well be our first glimpse at material from the now-legendary Snyder cut. And that brings up a whole bunch of interesting implications.
Snyder Cut! (portions of it, anyway)
It’s not a sure thing that the Fortress of Solitude scene was helmed by Zack Snyder, but if it was, we could be in store for some additional footage from the infamous Snyder Cut. We’re not talking about anything too gamechanging here, mind you. If the rumors were indeed true, and Snyder’s version of Justice League featured things like a drastically different ending and an entirely dissimilar resurrection sequence, they almost certainly won’t be revealed on this Blu-ray release. We’ve explained why it’s so unlikely that Warner Bros. would ever release the full Snyder cut in several other posts, but if they were ever going to do it, they would be hyping the living hell out of it to drive up sales.
That being said, we could very well see some of the more minor Snyder footage that landed on the cutting room floor with this Blu-ray release, scenes in the vein of the sequences we’ve detailed above. Fans that were hoping to see a bearded Superman in his black suit may not be entirely satisfied, but that was never really on the table anyway.
And as you’re surely aware, if the Man of Steel is onscreen, there’s a pretty easy way to determine whether a Justice League scene hails from the Snyder shoot or from Joss Whedon’s. Supes’ CGI face was a telltale sign that the sequence we were watching was a byproduct of the reshoots, so if the bonus material features more uncanny valley Henry Cavill, you should be able to piece together who shot it. Be sure to keep a sharp eye out when Justice League is made available for digital download (February 13th) and Blu-ray (March 13th)!
Next: Justice League Reshoots - Every Change Whedon Made To Snyder’s Film
