Comic book movies are known for sneaking subtle references to the original comics that only the most passionate fans might notice, but the upcoming Justice League film might also pay respects to some of the most iconic and creative musicians in history. At a press junket for the film, a copy of the “Metropolis Post” compared the disappearance of Superman to the passing of David Bowie and Prince.
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The events of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice seemingly resulted in Superman’s “death,” something which occurred the same year of Bowie and Prince’s passings. Given the performers’ eccentric works of art, the newspaper of Metropolis assumes that they, like Superman, didn’t die, but rather went back to their home planets.
Seeing as these are newspapers at a press event, it’s unknown as of yet if they’ll be seen in the finished film or how much screen time they’ll get, but the creation of these fake newspapers at least hints at the intent of them being seen in the film.
Interestingly, this isn’t the only superhero film to have a connection to Bowie, with director James Gunn having revealed that he had attempted to get the musician into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
The filmmaker shared the news during a Facebook Q&A earlier this year, where he shared that he had hoped Bowie could play an original member of Yondu’s crew. The appearance would have been brief, but given Bowie’s interest to explore cosmic themes with his music, it would have been a perfect fit.
Gunn pointed out that Bowie had expressed interest in the possibility, but, tragically, he passed away in February of last year, a month before the movie began shooting.
Nods to musicians aren’t the only Easter eggs fans should look out for in Justice League, with fans recently spotting a subtle nod to The Dark Knight Returns in a short featurette about the upcoming film.
In the scene, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is shown talking with Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) in front of a lake, with Wayne’s outfit appearing quite similar to an ensemble he wore in the comic. Given how heavily this book inspired filmmaker Zack Snyder’s image of Batman, it’s tough to call this a mere coincidence.
We’ll see every Easter egg Justice League has to offer when it hits theaters on November 17.
