Justice League: Snyder Cut Makes a Major Change to the Lex Luthor and Deathstroke Scene

The Snyder Cut of Justice League has officially become a reality, putting a cap on years worth of theories and speculation amongst DC Comics fans. In addition to just providing an unprecedented four-hour superhero blockbuster experience, the film includes a lot of storylines and sequences that weren’t included (or were reimagined entirely) in the 2017 theatrical cut. This was true even to the film’s final moments, as a scene that was previously made into Justice League‘s post-credits scene — the meeting between Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) — ultimately took on a completely different context in Snyder’s version. Spoilers for Zack Snyder’s Justice League below! Only look if you want to know!

After the conclusion of the team’s battle against Steppenwolf (Ciran Hinds), the set up for Lex and Slade’s meeting unfolds relatively the same, as Lex breaks his way out of Arkham Asylum and escapes on some sort of yacht. There, Slade arrives, and Lex confirms that (as in the theatrical cut) his lavishness is justified by celebrating the return of Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavill). Lex then reveals that he has information for Slade which will hopefully lead to him killing the Batman (Ben Affleck), which Slade is willing to accept, as it seems like he holds Batman responsible for the loss of one of his eyes. Lex then tells Slade Batman’s true name, Bruce Wayne, and Slade agrees that is an occasion to celebrate.

While some lines of dialogue in the scene are the same, the overall context for them could not be more different than how it was in the theatrical cut, in which Lex suggested that they should form “a league of [their] own.” Many had taken this line to be set up for a potential Injustice League, something that has yet to come to fruition or really even be touched on in the DCEU since. Because of that, an argument can be made that Snyder’s version of the scene works better on a fundamental level — it establishes Lex and Slade’s willingness to collaborate, but still has each of them on their own separate personal vendettas.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is now available to stream exclusively on HBO Max.