Justice League Snyder Cut: Director Zack Snyder Teases Martian Manhunter’s Role

Justice League director Zack Snyder teases the arrival of the shape-shifting J’onn J’onzz, a.k.a. the Martian Manhunter, who will be revealed as the secret identity of military man Calvin Swanwick (Harry Lennix) in the Justice League: Snyder Cut coming to HBO Max. After helping the alien Superman (Henry Cavill) thwart the plans of rogue Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon) in Man of Steel, Swanwick was promoted to United States Secretary of Defense by the time of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, where he witnessed Superman — along with Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) — halt the rampage of another Kryptonian threat: Doomsday, a mutated creature unleashed by the maniacal Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg).

Responding to news of the recently confirmed Snyder Cut, Lennix tweeted, “Justice League and the Snyder cut… Things don’t Just happen–things happen Just.” Snyder published the actor’s tweet on social media platform Vero, adding the caption: “Watching over them all.”

Snyder first confirmed Lennix as the Martian Manhunter when he shared storyboards of Swanwick’s transformation into the green-skinned alien. In an October 2019 Vero post, Snyder lamented scenes he intended to film with Lennix in Los Angeles revealing Swanwick as Martian Manhunter, a founding member of the Justice League in the original DC comic books.

During a recent virtual watch party of Batman v Superman, Snyder revealed details behind Lennix’s Justice League role when he addressed Swanwick’s ties to Clark Kent’s partner Lois Lane (Amy Adams):

“Harry Lennix is pretending to be a human being but does a great job, but has this relationship with Lois that started in Man of Steel if you kind of track their relationship,” Snyder said. “Harry understands there’s a relationship between Lois and Clark, who he knows, of course, is Superman.”

In an April interview, before Snyder confirmed work on the fabled Snyder Cut is now in progress, Lennix said he’d “love to do” unfinished Justice League scenes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. will commit $20-$30 million to complete the Snyder Cut releasing exclusively to the HBO Max streaming service sometime in 2021.

The same report noted Justice League actors could return to record additional dialogue needed to fulfill Snyder’s original vision. The version of Justice League completed by Joss Whedon and released to theaters in 2017 originally starred Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, Jeremy Irons, J.K. Simmons and Ciarán Hinds.