The Knightmare future was of Zack Snyder's DC movies was the secret weapon of the DCEU. Thus far only seen in relatively brief segments in Justice League 2 (the original plans were which were seen on a collection of whiteboards at a Texas AT&T exhibit in early 2021, along with those of Justice League 3), the fourth film in Snyder's arc effectively became a Knightmare-centered story, per Snyder's own explanation of the whiteboards.
The basic idea of the Knightmare future involved Darkseid conquering the Earth, with Superman brought under his control via the Anti-Life Equation, while Batman, the surviving of the Justice League, and a few other unlikely allies devising a plan to re-write history by altering the timeline. The Knightmare was essentially Zack Snyder's spin on the story of the Injustice comics and video games, and was meant to be a pivotal event in the story. While that much has been clear long before the Snyder Cut's release, the Knightmare was also a Trojan Horse in several other aspects.
Because nothing like the Knightmare had ever been done before in a DC movie, Justice League 2 would've been a superhero film that would essentially have nothing else to compare it to. However, apart from the basic post-apocalyptic setting and the dark Superman premise of Brightburn being turned up to 11, the Knightmare had a few other hidden assets that made it the DCEU's silver bullet in multiple ways. Here's how the Knightmare future of Zack Snyder's 5-movie arc was the secret weapon of the Superman-centered story his films were telling.
The Knightmare Allows For Extreme Character Variations
In creating a scenario where Darkseid has conquered Earth, the Knightmare future presented a whole new canvas to use the Justice League and many DC villains in ways they never have been on film before. Superman would be turned into an Injustice-level antagonist, though without actually turning evil, since he was under Darkseid's control via Mad Max: Fury Road.
One big added benefit of this was that it also presented Warner Bros. and DC with a merchadising and spin-off goldmine. With the studio and its licensees working backwards from wanting to sell toys and Halloween costumes being how 1997's Snyder's Knightmare future had all of that baked right into the story. Snyder's comedic segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert highlighted this in Colbert's comment on the potential for "spin-offs, animated specials, theme park rides" from what the segment set up in the "Extended Late Show SnyderVerse". The Knightmare itself offered similar potential for vast expansion into comics, video games, one-off series devoted to one or two characters, and countless other possibilities. A "DC Knightmare Land" or Flash Cosmic Treill theme park attraction at Six Flags, for example, plays right off of Colbert's comment on the Knightmare as a gift that could keep on giving. Additionally, the Knightmare also created a double-layered story format for Snyder's 5-movie arc.
The Knightmare Is Like Two Franchises In One
With the Knightmare having been shown in Batman v Superman and Zack Snyder's Justice League in the form of flashes into a post-apocalyptic world, Snyder was essentially telling two stories at once through alternate timelines (time-travel being an element of Snyder's films that WB also reportedly balked at). With this first three movies showing the present day for the Justice League, the Knightmare was being set up as a future that Batman, Cyborg, and the audience have had just a peek into before the franchise would finally take a full plunge into it in Justice League 2. At that point, the mission for the surviving of the League was about undoing that future by sending The Flash back into the past on the Cosmic Treill.
In a nutshell, Snyder's arc had the present and future Justice League as two separate stories that would eventually converge into one in Justice League 2. The Knightmare set up a distinct story of the League's defeat and a world ruled by Darkseid with Superman as his right-hand man, with Back to the Future Part II, setting up an alternate, hellish world as an integral element of his story, but also a parallel one to the Justice League's linear trajectory that would be re-established after the Knightmare timeline was averted.
Batman And Superman Are Both The Heroes Of Their Own Stories
Snyder's planned 5-part arc has been described as Superman-centric, since the franchise began with his DCEU origin in The Knightmare shows Batman occupying the same leadership role he took on in forming the Justice League. Batman v Superman showed Bruce Wayne as a broken man pulled back from the brink by Superman's sacrifice and becoming a hero again. In the Knightmare, the Man of Steel has fallen victim to the same fate, with Batman similarly pulling him back from what he's been turned into.
Superman's alignment with Apokolips in the Knightmare was triggered by Darkseid's killing of Lois Lane, similar to Batman's earlier fall from grace after Robin's death, with Darkseid using the Anti-Life Equation to bring the now vulnerable Superman under his control. Batman's plan to rewrite history would free Superman of Darkseid's control in the re-set timeline, and lead right into the conclusion of both of their stories in Justice League 3. The Man of Steel would become Superman fully realized, leading the League and the armies of mankind in the final war against the Apokoliptian invasion, while Batman would make the ultimate sacrifice to defeat Darkseid once and for all. The Knightmare would've been the three-quarters point for both of their stories, with their roles in it being major elements of where each was on his journey and individually setting up how their arcs were to conclude.
Though the Snyder Cut has finally been released, the role of the Knightmare remains another "What if?" in the unrealized two films of Snyder's planned story, due to Warner Bros. stance that Zack Snyder's Justice League is the end of the line. Of course, with ongoing #RestoreTheSnyderVerse calls having reached mainstream proportions, to the point of even suring 1 million tweets in a day, what Zack Snyder had planned with the Knightmare has very little chance of slipping out of the public consciousness. Whether Snyder's fans can make history twice is still up in the air, but the importance of the Knightmare to Snyder's plans is not only clear, the hidden assets it brought with it made it into most unexpected tool in the franchise's proverbial utility belt.
