Justice League Movie Originally Included A Romance Between Bruce Wayne And Lois Lane

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is almost (finally) here, and a new interview with the filmmaker has opened up some interesting new revelations about what the limited series will bring – and some of the plans Snyder had that never came to fruition. One idea that Snyder – which Warner Bros ultimately shot down – was Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne/Batman having a love story with Amy Adams’ Lois Lane. Yes, DC Comics fans, you heard that right: Snyder wanted to complicate Superman’s resurrection in Justice League by making Bruce Wayne choose between his heroic ideals as Batman, and his heart as a lonely, human man.

Here’s what we learned from Vanity Fair‘s in-depth profile on Zack Snyder and the road to getting Zack Snyder’s Justice League made:

“The intention was that Bruce fell in love with Lois and then realized that the only way to save the world was to bring Superman back to life,” Snyder explains. “So he had this insane conflict, because Lois, of course, was still in love with Superman. We had this beautiful speech where [Bruce] said to Alfred: ‘I never had a life outside the cave. I never imagined a world for me beyond this. But this woman makes me think that if I can get this group of gods together, then my job is done. I can quit. I can stop.’ And of course, that doesn’t work out for him.”

Like so many of the choices Zack Snyder made for his DC films, this Bruce Lois romance will anger some fans (see also: Jared Leto’s Jesus Christ Joker). However, like so many of the choices Zack Snyder made for his DC films, this Bruce/Lois subplot is one arguably drawn from DC lore. Bruce and Lois have often flirted and/or dated as two high-profile figures – it’s even part of famous DC animated series like the World’s Finest crossover. Of course, Bruce and Lois never really got that hot and heavy in any serous way – definitely not in the way Snyder has angled this abandoned Justice League storyline.

Bruce Wayne considering retiring Batman to be with a civilian love interest is a longtime staple of the character (and his films). And, admittedly, in the context of DC’s “Snyderverse” it would fit: After the events of Batman v Superman, Lois and Bruce are the arguably the two people (besides Martha Kent) morning Clark/Superman’s death. Them finding each other romantically would make sense. That all said, it’s easy to say that most DC probably prefer the more comic-traditional chemistry between Affleck’s Batman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman a whole lot more.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League streams on HBO Max starting March 18th.