One of the worst-kept secrets in superhero film history was Superman’s return in last year’s “Justice League.” After inexplicably being left out of all the marketing, Henry Cavill, aka Superman, was clearly coming back based on Instagram posts from the star and a variety of other leaks. So, while fans were well aware of Superman’s resurrection, they didn’t know what color his suit would be.
Yes, that sounds silly to non-comic book readers, but it’s a big issue for those that are aware of Superman’s death and resurrection in the comics. After Superman was killed by Doomsday in the comics (as well as ‘Batman v Superman’), he returns with long hair and a black costume. Fans assumed that when Supes returned in “Justice League,” he’d have that black suit. But alas, he came back in a much brighter blue and red outfit.
According to “Justice League” costume designer Michael Wilkinson, that wasn’t always the case. In an interview with Digital Spy, Wilkinson spoke at length about the rumored black suit, and how in previous versions of the film (prior to director Zack Snyder’s departure), the black suit was going to make an appearance.
“The black suit is something that has fascinated us as filmmakers from the get-go,” he confirmed. “We saw a glimpse of it in the nightmare sequence from ‘Man of Steel’ when Superman was wading through skulls, and in the deleted scene from ‘Justice League’ where you do see Clark walking through the spaceship and it’s teased in the background.”
“When we were prepping ‘Justice League,’ at first it seemed that it might be a logical choice for the look of Superman when he’s resurrected,” Wilkinson continued. “Zack [Snyder] is extremely respectful and passionate about the depiction of Superman in comic books and graphic novels, and traditionally when he is resurrected, he is in the black suit.”
“But as the tone of the film developed and we were in pre-production, the filmmakers felt that the classic red and blue suit seemed more appropriate to our story and our script,” he concluded. “It seemed that a more positive, upbeat image of Superman was what was needed – the idea of hope and that the world could in fact be saved was important, so that’s the direction that we went.”
So, as everyone expected, once Joss Whedon came on board, bringing his bright colors and quips along with him, he and WB agreed that the black suit was out. While that isn’t the most shocking revelation, it’ll no doubt stir up those fans that were hoping for some sort of “Snyder Cut” of “Justice League.” And as we learn more and more about the production, there seems to be quite a bit that was changed between the departure of Snyder and arrival of Whedon.
However, we know that’ll never happen. We just wish they would have left Superman’s facial hair alone.