Zack Snyder’s Big Justice League Omission Is Great News For The New DCU

Both Justice League and Zack Snyder’s Justice League — the director’s version of the movie released on Max — have one glaring omission, and the new DC Universe can explore that to its advantage. The DCEU is soon making way for the upcoming DC Universe, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ending that shared DC movie universe that started in 2013 with Snyder’s Man of Steel. While Snyder never occupied the position that James Gunn’s currently is — the head of DC Studios, which was only founded last year — the director played a major role in guiding the DCEU movies over the years.

The first major recast of the heroes chosen by Snyder for the DCEU has already happened, with the upcoming DC movies and series in Gunn’s new DCU counting with a younger Superman. David Corenswet takes on the role that was last played by Henry Cavill. Corenswet’s Superman: Legacy will see Clark Kent work alongside multiple heroes, and one of those heroes, as well as an upcoming DCU project, show that Gunn is looking to capitalize on Snyder’s major Justice League omission.

Every Major Justice League Hero Was In The DCEU Except Green Lantern

While not all heroes who have been part of the Justice League in the comics played a role in the DCEU, as that list is quite long, pretty much every major Justice League hero was in the DCEU, save for Green Lantern. The last time that one of the human Green Lanterns was in a DC movie was when Ryan Reynolds headlined the infamous 2011 Green Lantern as Hal Jordan. 2017’s Justice League included Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, and Superman as members of the team.

With the 2021 release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League on Max, the DCEU saw another major Justice League hero be brought to the universe, with Harry Lennix’s Martian Manhunter debuting. While Snyder originally planned for Wayne T. Carr to play the John Stewart version of Green Lantern in his Justice League movie, that didn’t end up happening — thanks to the studio deciding to cut the Green Lantern footage Snyder shot — with Green Lantern’s absence being felt across the DCEU.

Green Lantern’s Big-Screen Absence Makes His DCU Reboot Easier

Since 2011, Green Lantern has been missing from the big screen. While that is not ideal, the character’s absence is great for Gunn’s DCU. The new DC Universe has been receiving complaints about some actors being confirmed to return as their DC characters while Cavill and others are recast. Green Lantern will not face that problem, making his DCU reboot simple. Gunn is also going full-in on the Green Lantern mythos, with Nathan Fillion playing Guy Gardner in Superman: Legacy and Hal Jordan and John Stewart leading the upcoming Lanterns series. While Justice League was missing Green Lantern, the hero will finally be in the spotlight in the DCU.