The rabbit hole of Justice League's Snyder Cut has been an extremely deep one to explore. The role of Henry Cavill's Superman in both versions of the film is only one example of many, along with what the Snyder Cut set up for his future arc.
In the 10-month period between the Snyder Cut's announcement in May 2020 and its release in March 2021, Snyder was also able to film a few additional scenes for the movie's ending, along with working in some other elements with post-production tools. These scenes specifically focus on the Knightmare future first teased in Batman v Superman, with Earth having fallen under the rule of Darkseid (Ray Porter). In this future, Superman is also turned into a minion for Darkseid by way of the free-will stripping Anti-Life Equation.
Cavill, at the time filming The Witcher season 2, was not present for the additional photography, but Snyder was able to get around this by re-purposing a pair of shots from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. What makes the specific shots in question particularly interesting is how much they invert the heroism of Superman for the film's Knightmare teases. The two Superman shots, which originally revolved around the death of Zod and Lois' rescue, provide a dark mirror for the hero and ably service Snyder's Knightmare set-up.
How Justice League Flipped Superman Killing Zod In Man Of Steel
In the first Knightmare vision of the Snyder Cut seen by Cyborg (Ray Fisher), Superman is brought under Darkseid's control with the Anti-Life Equation after the villain has killed Lois Lane (Amy Adams) in the Batcave. The shot of Superman used in this scene is pulled from Man of Steel's ending after Superman breaks the neck of General Zod (Michael Shannon) to stop him from murdering a family with his heat vision. Despite stopping Zod, Superman still mourned his death in Man of Steel's ending, with Snyder taking the same shot to show Superman grieving once more (with his suit also re-colored to the black version) right as he's turned into Darkseid's soldier.
How Justice League Flipped Superman Saving Lois In Batman V Superman
In the Knightmare scene during the Snyder Cut's epilogue, Superman arrives as Batman (Ben Affleck) assembles his allies to undo the Knightmare. The shot of Superman in this scene is taken from Batman v Superman's opening sequence in which Superman arrives to rescue Lois. With this shot, Snyder again takes a heroic act by the Man of Steel and reworks it to show the horror of what Darkseid has turned Kal-El into. This moment also maintains its connection to Lois in the hellish Knightmare timeline as it was teased in Batman v Superman, in which Superman angrily tells Batman "She was my world, and you took her from me."
With the Knightmare and its erasure from the timeline being a central pillar of Snyder's Justice League sequels, Superman's role in it would ultimately free him from the Anti-Life Equation to become a hero once more in Justice League 3. This makes Snyder's use of the two past Superman shots fitting for that dichotomy of the Man of Steel's arc that would culminate in him leading the whole world against Darkseid. With the shots from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman showing Superman as a hero, Zack Snyder's Justice League turned them upside down in a very surprising way.
