Superman is going to be in Justice League, despite Zack Snyder hinting otherwise

If Justice League director Zack Snyder wanted to carry on the guise that Superman wasn’t going to show up in the film, he probably should have started planning that a little earlier.

Not to mention having a conversation with actor Henry Cavill about what he should and shouldn’t post on his Instagram account.

It may seem odd for the conversation about Superman’s appearance in the movie to come up now. Cavill’s name has been listed as part of the cast since the movie was first announced, the actor has talked about Justice League in previous interviews and he’s posted multiple photos on Instagram alluding to the fact that Superman will return. So why is it coming up now?

Recently, Snyder has given a few interviews that suggest Superman may not be in the movie. Over the weekend, Snyder gave USA Today an ambiguous answer about whether or not Superman would return to join his fellow Justice League comrades.

“It’s hard to have a Justice League without Superman,” Snyder said. “That’s how I feel about it. It was always a super-intriguing concept to me to have this opportunity to have him make that sacrifice but also have him be this, in a weird sort of way, the why of Justice League: What do you do now with him? What does the team think? What does the world need? All that comes into play. It’s fun for us but it’ll be interesting for audiences to see what we do with him.”

Even though Superman has appeared in early concept art, the biggest question is how Superman will return. The fact that Snyder is looking for a new way to reintroduce the character into the DCEU suggests that Superman may return as a version audiences are unfamiliar with. Add on the fact that Snyder thinks it’ll be interesting to see what they do with the character, and it all but confirms Superman’s pseudo-return.

That’s not the only evidence we have, either. Last August, Cavill posted a photo on Instagram of what appears to be the Superman costume but in black. The photo seemed to reference the suit Superman donned in the 1993 comic “Death of Superman.”

After Superman’s fight with Doomsday, which also happened in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Superman was left without any power and effectively dead. His body was being kept in the Fortress of Solitude to restore power and the black suit was put on his body while he recovered.

Although the comic doesn’t tie in to the events of Batman v Superman, there is enough overlay that Superman could make a brief appearance in the movie with the black suit. Just long enough for Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg to not forget about him.

It is also interesting that Snyder sees the death of Superman as the reason the Justice League is formed in the first place in the film. Even if the character isn’t on screen for the majority of it, Superman’s presence will be felt.

There have been rumors and reports that Superman could return as the villain the Justice League will have to take on, and their not completely out of the ball park. With that said, however, Snyder has confirmed previously that Steppenwolf, the uncle of Darkseid and a general in the Apokolips army, would be the film’s main villain. It seems mighty ambitious to try and fit Superman in there, too, and it seems unlikely that Superman would exist at the hands of Steppenwolf.

Although, Batman v Superman did manage to cram in both Lex Luthor and Darkseid, so who knows, maybe Superman really will be Batman’s enemy ... again. One thing’s for sure, though: Superman is going to be in Justice League.

All will be proven once and for all when Justice League hits theaters on Nov. 17.