‘Justice League’ Director Explains the Purpose of Batman’s Glasses

If you have ever wondered why Batman adopted those new goggles in between Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, Zack Snyder has an answer for you.

Over on Vero, Snyder responded to a fan question about the nature (and use) of the goggles on Batman’s Justice League costume.

“They allow heads-up, real-time information,” Snyder said. “Thermal night vision, you know, all that shenanigans.”

For fans who have read a lot of comic books, this makes perfect sense and was likely taken as read, but Yaniv Sapir, who asked the question, is not the only person to question it.

Given that seemingly every scene in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was packed with Easter eggs, subtext, and other minutia, a decision like changing Batman’s classic wardrobe was likely made after quite a bit of deliberation, so it is no surprise that eventually someone would get around to asking why.

The goggles were included in one of the earliest stills from the movie and almost immediately drew comparisons to Nite-Owl’s wardrobe from Snyder’s 2009 Watchmen movie. Since Nite-Owl, nominally based on Charlton’s Blue Beetle, had so much in common with Batman in the comics, it seemed a bit like a sneak eating its own tail.

Zack Snyder, who directed Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, is the credited director on Justice League, but a significant amount of the movie was reshot following his departure due to a family tragedy. The reshot elements, directed by Marvel’s The Avengers filmmaker Joss Whedon, strove for a lighter tone and seemingly sought to fill in gaps left when the studio asked for a significantly shorter cut of the movie, which left narrative holes in Snyder’s film that needed to be filled.

Snyder’s assembly cut of the film, which was presented to Warner Bros. before his departure and reportedly ran about an hour longer, has become a fixation for a portion of the internet who believe the movie would have been significantly better with less studio interference and less of Whedon’s material in the final cut. Studio executives have cast doubt on how complete Snyder’s cut was, and officially it seems there is little hope that a “Snyder Cut” will be commercially released anytime soon, particularly after the theatrical cut was a box office disappointment.

The Worlds of DC films ahead include Aquaman on December 21st, Wonder Woman 2 on November 1, 2019, Shazam on April 5, 2019, Cyborg in 2020, and Green Lantern Corps in 2020, along with numerous undated films in various stages of development.