A new trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League has been released, unveiling plenty of new footage from the director's cut of the film. Perhaps most noteworthy was the final shot of the trailer, which revealed our first look at the return of Jared Leto's Joker in the HBO Max-bound movie. It was already confirmed the Clown Prince of Crime would come back as part of a return to the Knightmare reality, and now fans have their first look at the villain in this dystopian future, forming what appears to be an alliance with Batman at the end of the world.
If anything, this shows how interesting the Knightmare reality is, and how much potential storytelling there is in this alternate future. In fact, following the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, HBO Max could easily keep part of the director's vision going with a Knightmare spinoff series.
The Knightmare reality was introduced in 2016's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice as a dystopian future that was at the heart of a vision Bruce Wayne experienced, showing what would happen to the world if the heroes failed and Darkseid was successful in taking over the planet. Superman was transformed into an agent of the villain and he had his own army of soldiers, and it was up to Batman and his resistance to try and fight back.
The vision was brief, but the Knightmare reality quickly set itself apart thanks to its post-apocalyptic setting. Now, years later, Zack Snyder's Justice League will once again journey to the dark future, and the Joker will take part in it. Like Batman, the Joker is getting a new, apocalyptic look, and he too will seemingly fight against Darkseid and his minions. This reaffirms that this alternate future can twist things as much as it wants -- and its potential is immense.
While there are currently no plans for Snyder to direct another Justice League sequel, Warner Bros. could do the next best thing by allowing him to produce a Knightmare-based limited series for HBO Max. Such a project wouldn't necessarily have to feature the return of Batman and the Joker, but it could focus on other superheroes who fight as part of the resistance. This could lead to the introduction of other heroes who have yet to appear in the DC Extended Universe, all while giving them new post-apocalyptic costumes and missions.
DC's Comics has been home to plenty of apocalyptic Elseworlds tales, from DCeased to Injustice. There is plenty of interest in these types of stories, which means that a Knightmare series, with a limited episode count and an HBO Max budget, could truly flourish on the streaming service. It would also allow part of Snyder's vision to live on, while still being completely independent from the other DCEU projects. The Knightmare reality is begging to be expanded, and an HBO Max series would be the perfect vehicle to go about it.
Zack Snyder's Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The film arrives on HBO Max March 18.