Zack Snyder's Justice League has finally been released, yet it doesn't conclude the story of its heroes. Though the director has indicated disinterest in further sequels, fans curious about what would've happened next are in luck. The full, original pitch for Snyder's second & third Justice League films, mixing text with storyboard illustrations by Jim Lee, has been released.
Keep in mind, these would’ve been the sequels to an entirely different Justice League film; even if Snyder had stayed on all the way through Justice League's original production, it's unlikely the theatrical cut would've had the same titanic 242-minute runtime as his current cut does. Many developments are also contingent upon solo films which were either altered or canceled and on plot details dropped from Justice League before filming even began. For fans who just need some resolution though, this pitch might be the closest they can get.
10 Introducing The Legion Of Doom
Both cuts of Justice League feature a scene where Slade Wilson/Deathstroke meets with Lex Luthor on a yacht to discuss a potential job. In the theatrical cut, Luthor suggests the villains form a "league of their own." In Snyder's version, he instead lets Slade in on Batman's secret identity. Snyder's version seems to be a prologue for the now-aborted version of The Batman starring Ben Affleck, while funnily enough, the theatrical version hints at Snyder's own plans for a Justice League follow-up.
According to the pitch, Justice League 2 would've featured Luthor assembling the Legion of Doom: Doctor Poison (from Wonder Woman), Ocean Master & Black Manta (both from Aquaman), Captain Cold (from the still forthcoming The Flash), and The Riddler (from Affleck's version of The Batman; apparently, Nygma's involvement is one thing that carried over even after Matt Reeves retooled the film).
9 The Heroes Reunite With Loved Ones
The League begins Justice League 2 united, but as the story goes on they begin to deal with their own problems. Diana returns to Themyscira and receives a hero's welcome, Barry (with the help of Victor and Iris) gets his father freed from prison, and Arthur unites the Seven Kingdoms of Atlantis alongside Mera.
Superman and Lois, meanwhile, have two complications in their relationship: "Clark Kent" is still legally dead, while Lois is pregnant.
8 The Riddler Solves The Anti-Life Equation
With the Justice League attending to personal matters, Batman and Lois Lane are the only ones investigating the escaped Luthor. While Lois discovers Doctor Poison's hide-out in Brazil and realizes that he's formed a team, Batman discovers the Riddler - unkempt, haggard, and in a room with the ravings of a madman on the wall. It turns out that Luthor tasked Nygma with solving the Anti-Life Equation; he succeeded, and shaken by what he knows, he decides to "solve the last riddle" by taking his own life.
In Zack Snyder's Justice League, Steppenwolf discovers the Anti-Life Equation on Earth. Given this and the clear intent for Darkseid to be the villain of Snyder's saga, it's clear the Equation would've still factored in somehow even if the above story beats didn't.
7 Darkseid Kills Lois Then Enslaves Superman
Lex has stolen the three Mother Boxes by this point (considering Zack Snyder's Justice League ends with them merged and inert, something must have changed here). He intends to use them in conjunction with the Anti-Life Equation to make himself master of all existence. That's when Darkseid comes in; the New God played Luthor by having him solve the Equation then setting the conditions for Darkseid to use it himself.
After Luthor tells Darkseid that Lois is "the key" to breaking Superman's spirit, the Lord of Apokolips Boom Tubes to the Batcave, kills Lois, then enslaves the grief-stricken Superman with Anti-Life. Snyder's Justice League offers a glimpse of what is likely this moment; Superman cradles a burning skeleton as Darkseid approaches him.
6 The Legion Attacks, Wonder Woman & Aquaman Are Killed, Batman Escapes
With Darkseid triumphant, Lex signals his team to attack. Doctor Poison floods Themyscira with toxic gas, killing Diana and the Amazons. Ocean Master and Black Manta attack Arthur's coronation, killing him and scarring Mera. Captain Cold attacks Barry and Victor, his cold-gun destroying Victor's lower body. Superman then incinerates Lex while Batman escapes.
From glimpses at the future in Snyder's Justice League (the Amazons giving Diana a funeral pyre, Darkseid attacking Atlantis, Cyborg, and Mera lacking any scars in the Knightmare), it seems the details of how the League would be defeated changed. However, those scenes also mean that Wonder Woman and Aquaman were always intended to be taken off the table.
5 The Knightmare Has Come To Pass
Justice League 2A opens in the Knightmare future, with Hal Jordan returning to Earth after the galaxy-wide decimation of the Green Lantern Corps. Jordan is saved from Darkseid's forces by the remaining Justice League: Batman, Flash, Cyborg, Mera, and Deadshot. These heroes live as fugitives from the legions of Apokolips, Superman most of all.
The Knightmare scene near the end of Zack Snyder's Justice League, shot not during the first round of principal photography but during the production of the current cut, indicates the director had second thoughts about this line-up. Floyd's role was swapped out for Slade, while the Joker also appears as an uneasy ally of the Justice League.
4 The Flash Is Sent Back In Time As Superman Kills The Justice League
Once the League returns to their base, they fill Green Lantern in on their plan - they've created a Cosmic Treadmill for the Flash to travel back in time and prevent the Knightmare future from happening. There are just two catches. They can only attempt this once every year due to the Earth's rotation and they need a Mother Box to power the device, and stealing a Mother Box will alert Superman to their location.
Once they steal the machine, Superman comes in hot on their trail. Each of the League attacks him one-by-one (Deadshot with a Kryptonite bullet, Mera by pulling the water from his body, etc.) but they all fall. Before Superman finishes off Cyborg, though, Victor is able to send Barry back in time.
3 Bruce Is The Father Of Lois' Baby
Snyder intended Bruce and Lois to begin a romance in Justice League, which Superman's return would've ended. The payoff for that is here; when Barry travels back in time, it's to Bruce and Lois in the Batcave before Darkseid's arrival, where he tells Bruce that he's the father of Lois' baby, not Clark. This revelation spurs Bruce to save Lois from Darkseid.
This is the biggest sticking point for how Snyder's plans must have evolved. The revelation is integral to the story of this pitch, yet because WB nixed the whole idea in the crib, there is no romance between Bruce and Lois in the Zack Snyder's Justice League that audiences actually got to see.
2 Earth Unites Against Darkseid
With Lois saved, Superman repels Darkseid then saves the rest of the League from Luthor's Legion. Darkseid thus decides he's going to take Earth the direct way. The League stands alongside the armies of the world and the Green Lantern Corps against Apokolips' forces, just as the alliance of old did thousands of years ago during the villain's first invasion of Earth (shown in Zack Snyder's Justice League). Once the battle is ended, the Amazons and Atlanteans do not return to isolation, but instead rejoin the world under the leadership of Diana and Arthur.
1 Batman Dies, But His Legacy Lives
So much of Snyder's Batman is ripped from Frank Miller, yet his ending for the character has a different source—Grant Morrison.
In the pitch for Justice League 2A, it's the critically injured Batman who destroys Darkseid at the cost of his own life, mirroring comic Bruce's death in Morrison's "Final Crisis." Then there's the epilogue; 20 years down the road, with peace established by the Justice League's waning, Gotham needs a new Batman. Lois' son, raised by her and Clark, thus steps up to take his biological father's mantle. This points to a different Morrison comic - Batman #666, "Batman In Bethlehem," where Damian Wayne has taken his father's place.