‘Justice League’ May Have Originally Included Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation

The Internet is still wondering what could have been with Justice League, and it sounds like a major DC Comics Easter egg may have originally been a part of that.

Visual effects company WetaFX recently updated their website to talk about their work on the DC Extended Universe film. One part of the page about Justice League mentions that WetaFX “handled the massive battle flashback where Steppenwolf and legions of armies from all over the DC Universe fight for the anti-life equation.”

Wait, what?

For those who have seen Justice League, this will probably raise some eyebrows, as the Steppenwolf flashback scene didn’t occur that way at all. In the flashback, the different tribes are seen fighting Steppenwolf over the three Mother Boxes, which they eventually acquire and hide in different places on Earth.

While it’s unclear exactly why WetaFX’s website mentions the Anti-Life Equation, the notion that it could have appeared in the flashback scene could be something major for Justice League. In the comics, the Anti-Life Equation is a formula that can control all sentient life, and Darkseid’s hunt for it eventually leads to him terrorizing Earth.

We know that Darkseid himself may have factored a physical role in early drafts of Justice League, with storyboards and potential concept art seeming to hint at his appearance. With that in mind, it certainly would have made sense for the flashback to focus on the Anti-Life Equation, as opposed to just being a game of keep-away with the Mother Boxes.

Either way, DC fans will probably be excited by the notion that the Anti-Life Equation could have appeared in Justice League, while simultaneously sad that it wasn’t in the final cut. Considering the fact that the film underwent an unknown number of reshoots under Joss Whedon, it would certainly add to the number of things that a Zack Snyder “cut” could give the film.

Fans have been intrigued by the possibility of a #SnyderCut since Justice League was actually released, campaigning for it in some pretty creative ways. And while reports seem to suggest that it both could and couldn’t be a reality, it sounds like one of the film’s stars doesn’t think it would make an impact.

“I don’t know if [a Snyder cut] actually exists so the only way I can look at it is as a business model, and I don’t know what difference it’s going to make,” Henry Cavill, who plays Clark Kent/Superman, said in a recent interview. “There are stories to be told, which need to be told and adjustments that can be made, but that’s not going to make any difference.”

Would you have liked to see the Anti-Life Equation factor into Justice League? Let us know what you think in the comments below.