Zack Snyder's Justice League and Batman v Superman share an unlikely Superman Easter egg
The two movies might share a big Superman link
Zack Snyder's Justice League and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice might share an unlikely Superman Easter egg.
In Batman v Superman, the Man of Steel dies while taking down the Kryptonian monster Doomsday. In the Ultimate Edition, at precisely the 2-hour, 38-minute, and 57-second mark, we get a close-up of Supes' face after his death.
In the Snyder Cut, the Justice League resurrect Superman using the Mother Box – and a fan has spotted a surprising link between the two scenes, with Superman's resurrection apparently occurring – you guessed it – 2 hours, 38 minutes, and 57 seconds into the Snyder Cut (though the image below has the timestamp 2:38:56).
Guys I just notice something while watching BvS and #ZackSnydersJusticeLeague back to back In BvS superman dies at 2h38:57In ZSJL he is resurected at 2h38:57 It is the exact same time code Zack snyder is a fucking genius for thinking about this ! pic.twitter.com/8UhdbQnydJApril 10, 2021
The director himself seemingly confirmed that the link is intentional, liking a post pointing out the connection on the social media site Vero. However, it should be noted that on UK streaming service Sky Cinema, the time stamp for Superman's resurrection is about 2 hours and 32 minutes in – so the numbers don't seem to match up across every platform. Plus, if you're watching the theatrical cut of Batman v Superman, Supes dies around 2 hours and 12 minutes into the film.
Zack got to see your tweet on Vero🙏 https://t.co/fJiNlDMpsV pic.twitter.com/SRZUuE9CrrApril 10, 2021
Another layer to the Easter egg has been pointed out online, too – in the Bible, the resurrection of Lazarus is described in John 11:38. Of course, that might be a bit tenuous, considering the only link seems to be the number 38, but it's still an interesting detail – and Snyder loves his biblical references.
In Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), Superman is resurrected at 2 hours and 38 minutes. This is the same time he died in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). John 11(2):38 describes Lazarus’ resurrection. pic.twitter.com/2VYj2usfiBApril 11, 2021
Snyder is no stranger to Easter eggs, with a promo video for the Snyder Cut packed with references to the characters' lives, mythological figures, and famous artwork. Zack Snyder's Justice League itself is also full of hidden details, and you can see some of the biggest Easter eggs in our roundup.
The Snyder Cut is streaming on HBO Max now, and if you're caught up on all four hours of the movie, check out our deep dives into everything you could possibly want to know about it here:
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I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.