Zack Snyder Reveals When He Realized Man of Steel Character Was Martian Manhunter

Harry Lennix made his DCEU debut in Man of Steel, playing no-nonsense Lieutenant General Calvin Swanwick. Appearing as the liaison between the United States Armed Forces and Superman in Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman, Lennix then pivoted and picked up a new role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League: that of beloved Justice Leaguer Martian Manhunter. According to Snyder himself, having Lennix play J’onn Jonzz wasn’t always the case; instead, the idea ultimately came up while the director was editing Batman v. Superman.

“The conversations around Martian Manhunter started in post on Batman v. Superman,” Snyder said during a fan Q&A on Friday. “When Superman goes to the glass in Man of Steel and everyone backs up except for Swanwick, which was a choice by the actor. I was like, ‘Oh that’s cool,’ and was trying to decide if that was wrong. I think that, really, in retrospect inspired this whole possibility.”

At one point in the production process, Lennix’s Manhunter was also going to appear alongside John Stewart.

“All along I knew that I was going to be in it. It was going to be Martian Manhunter and John Stewart,” Lennix told the LightCast Podcast. “J’onn J’onzz and John Stewart, as it were, in the movie. But then they made him take out that part. So I did go in later, in like October, to do the scene with Ben Affleck. So I think that was the recipient, that is to say, the information that was conveyed in that scene, [Snyder] just had Martian Manhunter do it, which I thought was fun. He said something to the effect that he felt there was a good way to tie it up, the information that needs to be put out there is out there.”

He added, “We know that the Green Lantern will live on in another part of the franchise such as the DCEU. Hey man, I’m there to serve. It’s not uncommon where sometimes an actor has to fill in for another actor, it happens quite a bit.”

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is now streaming on HBO Max.