'Justice League' opening song "Everybody Knows" was Joss Whedon's choice

By

·

December 4, 2017

Last night a TV Critic for The New Yorker, Emily Nussbaum, tweeted out the lyrics to the song "Everybody Knows" by Leonard Cohen. The song appears in the opening title montage for Justice League and is performed by Sigrid, and it turns out it was Joss Whedon who decided to use it there.

Whedon replied to Nussbaum's "Everybody Knows" tweet this morning and said, "(I stuck it in JL too)".

(I stuck it in JL too)
— Joss Whedon (@joss) December 4, 2017

The "Everybody Knows" opening in Justice League is no "Beautiful Lie" from Batman v Superman, but I liked it. Did you? Let me know in the comments below.

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207 comments

gonzzCABJ
December 4, 2017
At first I hesitated, but I ended up liking it. It works.
1. Joshua Schell
  December 4, 2017
  look up the other version
  1. emily_10
    December 4, 2017
    Which other version?
SBHM
December 4, 2017
It was a good choice, but it would’ve been more impactful if they showed more aftermath or Superman’s death. Some guy kicking over some crates doesn’t do it for me. There should’ve been scenes of murders, robberies, a lack of heroes (where was the “Where’s the Gotham Bat?” line?) The song itself was a great choice, but it could’ve been used better.
1. aGuyWhoIsLazy
  December 4, 2017
  What are you on about, there are no murders and robberies in a Disney movie.
  1. Mark
    December 4, 2017
    Bambi's mother begs to differ.
    1. aGuyWhoIsLazy
      December 4, 2017
      That's not murder, that's venison. mmmmm...
    2. Kane
      December 4, 2017
      So does Simba's dad...
  2. SBHM
    December 4, 2017
    LOL. Kudos to you. This actually made me laugh.
2. lowdevil
  December 4, 2017
  That scene at the convenience store with cops and thugs was highly bizarre. Along with every other choice in the film.
  1. Rorschach
    December 4, 2017
    Yes! Thank you. I agree with everything the two of you have said. Not exactly sure why I'm supposed to care about a thug kicking over crates. I wondered whether that was a result of the studio's desire to lighten things up. If you open with a downer of a montage showing the unpleasant ramifications of Superman's death, that's probably "too dark" for Tsujihara and the WB gang. Something tells me the opening would have played out differently if Snyder were given complete creative freedom.
    1. lowdevil
      December 4, 2017
      Everything I've read about deleted scenes indicate a darker tone in relation to anything Superman. He almost kills Lois until his mom arrives and gives him the closet speech from mos. I think that was too much for the people at WB to handle.
      But kicking over fruits to start the film? And in slow motion. That actually looked like a Snyder scene to me and was completely taken back from such a awful choice.
      1. sj conker
        December 4, 2017
        "He almost kills Lois until his mom arrives and gives him the closet speech from mos"
        That was confirmed to be a fake leak. Nothing in that leak was true.
      2. lowdevil
        December 4, 2017
        You sure about that?
      3. sj conker
        December 4, 2017
        100% If you heard that from Kevin Smith's podcast, all of that is false. The guy who wrote it gave a detailed description of the Barry breaking the glass scene from the trailers but then the full sequence was leaked online and it was different than what he described. The leak is bunk. Actual verified VFX artists who worked on the movie have confirmed it was bunk. Here is legit info about what was changed from a verified VFX artist.
        It's the post by ultracal31
        https://www.resetera.com/th...
      4. BugsMeany
        December 4, 2017
        Catch me up please. How did Kevin Smith in the past few days become the authority on the Snyder cut? Did he see it, or has he become some kind of gatekeeper for leaks?
      5. MrMovies
        December 4, 2017
        That was a false rumor.
    2. sj conker
      December 4, 2017
      The fruit kick scene was supposed to be showing a white guy being islamophobic.
      1. Rorschach
        December 4, 2017
        Completely missed that. And perhaps it's good that I overlooked the ham-fisted political narrative.
      2. sj conker
        December 4, 2017
        Yea, that and the sharply dressed caucasian suicide bomber terrorist group. Because that's real common.
      3. mr nobody
        December 4, 2017
        yeah, seriously. what was up with that? lol
  2. Mario
    December 4, 2017
    And how Whedon totally NOT resolved that in the end
  3. SBHM
    December 4, 2017
    It was such a strange choice to depict that the “good guys lost.” There are dozens of other ways this scene could’ve been more effective. How about a quick scene of two people getting shot in an alley? Would’ve been a nice callback to the Wayne’s deaths, and it would’ve been a bit more fearsome than some guy yelling at a lady at a convenience store.
    1. lowdevil
      December 4, 2017
      I am not a fan of Marvel films but, do you know what they do well and what they figured out works?
      Avoid the public.
      Non of their films have anything to do with general public and they keep the camera on the main characters at all times. The thug on the roof, the fruit kicking, the weird museum criminals, the Russian family. Arguably ALL horrible choices.
      Keep the focus only on the heros and you are safe. Thats what Marvel figured out.
      1. SBHM
        December 4, 2017
        That’s a good point. Sakovia though is the exception from Ultron. That movie was so lame though lol.
      2. lowdevil
        December 4, 2017
        Ya pretty sure after that film they said OK no more interactions with regular people, stick to main characters. Like Winter Soldier.
      3. BugsMeany
        December 4, 2017
        That’s a neat observation! That will be the thing I learned today. 🙂
      4. K.
        May 29, 2018
        What about the kid in iron man 3?
  4. Clair
    December 5, 2017
    I personally found that scene very intense - maybe the most intense in the movie.
    I don't really see why some people that comment here would prefer having two guys shooting each other in a dark alley. That is pretty common in movies and I don't think is something that the viewer can relate to.
    That scene on the other hand gave me chills. I saw a woman about my size attacked by a huge, scary guy for a reason she cannot (or better said shouldn't change) like race or religion. It made me imagine how I would feel being her when the guy came her direction and she retreated in fear. It was a strong feeling of fear that I recall even now typing this.
    Every detail felt perfect to me. The fruits falling in slow motion made me think about how those people probably make very little profit and live day by day and how the waste of those fruits will set them back.
    Well, this is my opinion, but maybe I am too sensitive.
    And for the haters: I am not part of any minority, I just think everyone should be allowed to live in peace and by judge on their actions alone and nothing else. So please move along.
    1. lowdevil
      December 5, 2017
      No you are not too sensitive. I understand the context of the scene, however, because this was shot in the style of a montage complete with slow motion it just did not work. Why not include more than just the one scene of violence? The way it was shot was comical and never did i believe that woman was in any danger except for having racial slurs thrown at her.
3. Schuyler Finley
  December 4, 2017
  Yeah. Steppenwolf says that Superman's death brought fear into the world.....but we really don't see that.
  1. SBHM
    December 4, 2017
    We certainly don’t. You’ve got to think this was at least on the storyboard. They disregard the whole “fear unto the world” aspect. Could’ve at least seen riots in the streets and robberies. That would’ve at least had a bit more of an impact in terms of real world threats.
    1. sj conker
      December 4, 2017
      It's not like there's no shortage of riot footage these days, right?
      1. SBHM
        December 4, 2017
        Tis’ true. It would’ve been far more effective on the general audience.
      2. sj conker
        December 4, 2017
        Then again it would probably get a ton of backlash for using real footage or even recreations of recent riots.
attentionisattention
December 4, 2017
I don't recall if the segment was used, but the Jesus references in the lyrics made sense with Superman's arc
Saber Khai
December 4, 2017
I thought it was great. I hadn't heard the song since Pump Up the Volume. It works for the intro.
I'm Batman Man 39
December 4, 2017
I thought this was something that Zack would do, for sure, but props to Joss for putting it in there, as I really liked it.
Now watch these Snyder fanboys who liked it cause they thought it was his idea hate on it now that they know it was Joss’ idea. xD
1. NinjaGamer13
  December 4, 2017
  Exactly lol. Expect comments like "I knoew it awsn't a SNyder choice all along!"
Phunny Guy
December 4, 2017
Good song but what was the point? Is it about Supe’s death or is about the world going to hell. Is it a comic book movie or the political situation. Maybe the scenes could have been cut better to fit the message of the movie and not a mix match of style and story. It took me out of the movie. I would have preferred more background to the villain versus this scene.
1. sj conker
  December 4, 2017
  One of the big problems of the movie is that it doesn't follow through with the idea that the world has gone to shit without Superman. They just have Martha and Steppenwolf say every things really bad because he's dead, but they didn't properly convey a sense of that. Look at the Wonder Woman vs the terrorists scene for instance. The scene is played out as a fun romp with banter and quirky dialogue where Wonder Woman beats up some terrorists. Yay she stopped the bad guys! The fact that the scene opens with several innocent security guards being shot dead is never addressed. That scene could have helped further the idea that the world has been in a bad spot without Superman with just a few simple edits:
  1.) Remove the quirky dialogue and Wonder Woman's one liner, play it straight
  2.) Have that scene transition into the scene of Diana working on the sculpture via a news report on tv mentioning that although the attack was stopped, some odd number of people were still killed and that it was the umpteenth terror attack that year/month.
  Alternatively if they just wanted the scene to be a fun romp (nothing wrong with that) they should have cut out the part where all the security guards are killed.
  1. Phunny Guy
    December 4, 2017
    I agree.
  2. MrMovies
    December 4, 2017
    What one liner? The "a believer" response? That wasn't intended to be a joke.
Jesse Hernandez
December 4, 2017
I really liked the song.. reminded me of the Watchmen Opening
mabruno
December 4, 2017
So the Batman opening scene was Whedon's and so was Everybody knows. I guess that puts an end to the theory we read in so many biased reviews that "it is obvious which parts of JL are Snyder's and which are Whedon's".
1. Ace20xd6
  December 4, 2017
  And Flash drawing on that guy was Snyder's
  1. mabruno
    December 4, 2017
    Which was really lame BTW.
    1. Spenddollarz
      December 4, 2017
      your lame cunt
    2. Human target
      December 4, 2017
      Lame ? That's was hilarious.
      1. Schuyler Finley
        December 4, 2017
        I was just a bit annoyed that there wasn't no lightning around when he did it.
      2. Human target
        December 4, 2017
        True, nevertheless it was still hilarious.
    3. SBHM
      December 4, 2017
      It was childish, but my theater laughed and it played well into this Barry’s personality.
2. sj conker
  December 4, 2017
  I mean, some parts are obvious. When Barry starts sperging out over brunch he's clearly wearing a wig and a slightly different jacket than in the previous shot.
OmegaCorleone
December 4, 2017
I thought it was terrible.
1. Human target
  December 4, 2017
  Wasn't that bad .
residentgrigo
December 4, 2017
A good choice. Who knows what was before it, as the whole score was 100% rebuild under Whedon.
I ain´t saying it would have been better but the scene was very Snyder-esue. The whole film should have included more vocal song and rop/pop singles, as the thrown together orchestral score was the least functioning part of the film. This montage would have also been better served if it directly followed the phone interview. They fit well, the rooftop rubbish didn´t.
1. sj conker
  December 4, 2017
  "The whole film should have included more vocal song and rop/pop singles"
  The less Suicide Squad, the better.
  1. residentgrigo
    December 4, 2017
    Have you seen the JL (Unlimited) toon? Or Batman Beyond? They have the tone this films was going for and the musical side of Squad quickly turned iconic. The JLA score though, shrugs. Snyder´s Sucker Punch, Watchmen and a few others also did the same to great effect.
    1. sj conker
      December 4, 2017
      Bruh, don't question my animated series pedigree lol. Seriously though, I don't think songs would have fit what they were originally going for, something in line with MoS and BvS, or what they ended up doing. I can't think of a single sequence in the movie that would have benefitted from a song. Honestly, this movie having the tone of a JLU cartoon is part of the problem I have with it. I love me some JLU but this movie had about as much weight to it as one of the bad episodes of the JL cartoon. It lacked gravitas which is what I wanted it to have. It was just a very shallow, going-through-the-motions kind of movie with some very bad dialogue.
      Elfman's stuff didn't help either. I've been screwing around with a copy of the movie in an editing program and putting different Zimmer stuff over some of the scenes and it just works so much better. The Superman vs the League fight with Zimmer music way more kickass.
marsz
December 4, 2017
I liked the song and all, but what was the point? its not like they showed how humanity acted or regained faith after Superman came back to life. They really dropped the ball there. With that said, it was out of place.
1. guest
  December 4, 2017
  That seems pretty contrived
Dan
December 4, 2017
Snyderbots right now: ..deleting old posts saying "i loved the scene" now writing how much they hate it... Pathetic
1. Nice!
  December 4, 2017
  Only one pathetic here is you.
2. marsz
  December 4, 2017
  hahaha this gave me a good laugh
3. BROWN_KNIGHT 4 Trump
  December 4, 2017
  You got lotto numbers to prof x?
  1. Dan
    December 4, 2017
    05 26 29 35 46 lucky stars: 11 12. :)
4. Spenddollarz
  December 4, 2017
  pathetic is your existence
  1. Dan
    December 4, 2017
    Why do you feel offended ..i am talking about snyderbots who ignore and twist the truth and facts so snyder looks like a supreme godlike being.. There is no way you could identify as such.
    1. pw1x
      December 4, 2017
      Funny cause you're actually the only one twisting anything... but then again, thats what this site is all about now en' it? With all those adds to prove it.
      1. Dan
        December 4, 2017
        I totally understand what my honest opionion has to do with the adds on this site. I tried to cover the connestion up but you discovered my secret.
      2. pw1x
        December 4, 2017
        Yeah. You don't get it; like BvS, it was over your head
      3. Dan
        December 4, 2017
        Yes i am not smart enough to understand the ptsd batman developed and how superman saying the name reminded him of losing his humanity and becoming the very thing he hates. I am very stupid in general thats actualy rather sad.
      4. pw1x
        December 4, 2017
        No. Nor do you want to be. Play it as a joke all you like, but you truly don't get it. I don't think you being stupid is sad, but how many yous there are, that the sad part.
      5. Dan
        December 4, 2017
        I again sincerely apologize for myself and 99 % of the world for being so stupid that it makes you sad. I feel your anger and your frustration in your words it must be exhausting trying to enlighten such morons like me but i want to thank you for keeping up the good work. Have a nice day.
      6. pw1x
        December 4, 2017
        I don't think you get it, son, you're an idiot and therefore, your apology means nothing. I am glad though that you found yourself a home here, amongst the other 98% (your math earlier was wrong, but again, you're an idiot; I almost didn't bring it up).
      7. Dan
        December 4, 2017
        How was my math wrong?
      8. pw1x
        December 4, 2017
        I think the stupid has already set; the time for teaching is over.
      9. Dan
        December 4, 2017
        The population is about 7.5 billion people ...99 % of 7.5. billion is 7.425.000.000 ..so its correct when i say me and 7.425.000.000 people on the world (7.425.000.001 people ) are stupid .. While 1 % which is about 75.000.000 people including you are smart. But thats just coming from my humble stupid opinion.please enlighten me how my math is wrong.
      10. pw1x
        December 4, 2017
        Not really sure how any of that correlates to you knowing just how many people are stupid?
      11. Dan
        December 4, 2017
        How come you know its 98 % like you previously stated
      12. pw1x
        December 4, 2017
        Don't worry about it... isn't it time for someone's favorite tv program?
        https://youtu.be/yOXT-TPOK50
      13. Dan
        December 4, 2017
        I mean the only reason to think my math is wrong is if you truly believed 99% (of the worldpopulation) + 1 single person equals 100% and you thougt i forgot you in this equation. but thats what a stupid person like me would think. So i am again sorry i misunderstood you. But since we both agree i am idiot we can now finish this conversation in peace :)
      14. pw1x
        December 4, 2017
        Lol
5. Dark.$ide
  December 4, 2017
  Guys sign this lol :
  https://www.change.org/p/an...
  " In response, and most likely in jest, another user has taken to Change.com to petition for Whedon's full cut of the film. Instead of the final version of the film, which contained pieces of Snyder's darker & shallow vision mixed with Whedon, this fan wants to see what Justice League would look like if it was completely Whedon's, from start to finish. "
  1. sj conker
    December 4, 2017
    I'll laugh my ass off if this gets more signatures than the SNyder petition.
6. Kouglof
  December 4, 2017
  Is this a joke ? Why a Snyder fan would do that ? The intro was great.
  1. Dan
    December 4, 2017
    I loved it too
7. jrvc
  December 4, 2017
  Funny, because I think the opposite is actually happening...
  1. Dan
    December 4, 2017
    I believe the opening was generally loved and i thought it was snyder too. But I am pleasently surprised it was joss because it got so much praise.
    1. jrvc
      December 4, 2017
      I liked too and I actually thought that it was Snyder's too. Well, the scene was Snyder's, is the song what we are talking about, but I liked and my opinion remains the same.
      But the thing is, even if you are right, I have seen several people saying it was a bad Snyder's choice, and no doubt some of them will change colors now
      1. Dan
        December 4, 2017
        If thats true:Stupid jossbots then... Look i am not trying to offend snyderfans i just dont like the hypocrisy of some die hards who are offended by everything and twist facts.. But if people actually did it in favor for joss it is the same misrable thing too for me. Fair?
      2. jrvc
        December 4, 2017
        "fair?"
        Totally, and I think like you. I don't have anything against people who haven't liked the DCEU so far, Snyder in particular, but one of the things that makes me jump and defend these movies is the hypocrisy with which many times they are measured. I mean, don't come at me and say I don't like this for that, when you are praising the very same thing in another cbm, Get what I mean?
        Anyway, I appreciate seeing like-minded people, even if we are on "different sides" ;)
      3. Dan
        December 4, 2017
        Thats a really well thought and open minded opinion. I appreciate it very much.
        And i totally get what your saying.. For example i also think its unfair that steppenwolf and doomsday got so much crap for the cgi and everyone is praising infinity war trailer. I felt it was a underhwhelming trailer and the cgi of spiderman thanos and iron man looked very poor. But everybody was so excited i don't get it.
      4. jrvc
        December 4, 2017
        Oh dear! Thought I was the only one thiking that! Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see that movie as anyone, but I feel that if that very same trailer, just the way it is right now, would have been released under DC banner, it would be a laughing stock by now...
        Any person watching at that trailer objectively can't deny that Thanos looks...off. There's something on the face I don't like. But even if the CGI was to be great, JL's trailers were crapped on just because there was too much CGI. I mean, in a movie like JL or this one? For real? Smh...
8. SALonghorn
  December 5, 2017
  No...I am not! (Delete delete delete)
  But I would have bet the scene was Snyder
  If they release the Snyder cut, the least WB can do is have a version of JL with subtitles saying “Snyder scene” or “Wheadon scene”
  That would sell more BluRays
El Maybe
December 4, 2017
So guys, is this officially a bad song choice now? Or it's too late for that? Don't get me wrong, I liked it, it's just that I don't want to fall off the bandwagon here. Let me know ASAP.
1. Mark
  December 4, 2017
  Leonard Cohen is never a bad song choice.
  1. RichardPapen00
    December 4, 2017
    True that. I kinda wish they’d just used the Cohen version though.
  2. El Maybe
    December 4, 2017
    True... But still, that's not him singing so you never know! I just want to be up to date here.
2. NinjaGamer13
  December 4, 2017
  Lol
HiImTheMuSicMan
December 4, 2017
I listened to it on the soundtrack and thought wow it really sucks (the music is ok it's just that the lyrics are kinda corny) it was ok in the movie though.
Daniel
December 4, 2017
Not a big fan of pop and/or non-orchestral music in super-hero movies in general. Nothing dates a film more (see also: Prince's songs in "Batman" (1989)).
Pat Bateman
December 4, 2017
sensitive joss whedon
thefallen83
December 4, 2017
k.
BROWN_KNIGHT 4 Trump
December 4, 2017
Shocking.
dugzino
December 4, 2017
The song's good, but the use? Nothing compared to Watchmen's Bob Dylan.
Clay Castille
December 4, 2017
It's a shitty cover
1. Human target
  December 4, 2017
  Hell no
  1. Alan Conn
    December 4, 2017
    Yeah it is...
    1. Human target
      December 4, 2017
      No it isn't.
Spenddollarz
December 4, 2017
it sucked tho so what...
1. Human target
  December 4, 2017
  Far from it.
dr. quinzel
December 4, 2017
People made a big fight over the “I’m hip, I swear I am” Junkie XL approach versus the aggressively traditional choice of Danny Elfman, but the guy who made the right choice was Taika Waititi, who picked Mark Mothersbaugh. The Ragnarok score hit the deadliness of the slaughter, stayed away from the trap of playing comedy music, and was lovely when it wanted to be, at the death of Odin and the reconnecting of Thor and Loki at the end.
It’s a perfect metaphor for DC’s situation. It isn’t about choosing which old-guy approach to use, desperate hipness versus old-and-proud. The way out of this hole is forward, not back.
1. Alan Conn
  December 4, 2017
  Bahahaha!!! Ok...
  1. dr. quinzel
    December 4, 2017
    Well, come on. Not to belabor an obvious point, but a Thor movie just badly outgrossed a movie that had all of DC’s biggest heroes. You need to have the mental dexterity to accept that Ragnarok made some good choices DC could learn from.
2. Nahuel Benvenuto
  December 4, 2017
  you cant be serious, Ragnarok is a pretty bad movie that has barely any resemblance to anything Thor, Marvel, Ragnarok, or Thor Ragnarok related, with lot of forced bad humour in it, also hilarious that they tried to put musical continuity with previous two movies, worst mcu movie so far, and that is saying a lot because they are not very good either
Mario
December 4, 2017
'I sucked in JL too'
-Whedon
https://uploads.disquscdn.c...
1. NinjaGamer13
  December 4, 2017
  This is such a simultaneously hilarious and nightmarish picture
Nefarious Nick
December 4, 2017
I think they showed Bruce Wayne's parents being killed again in BvS to inform the audience that his mother is called Martha which as we know plays a very important part in the film
Gabi RkZ
December 4, 2017
i fucking loved that song
OptimistPrime99
December 4, 2017
https://uploads.disquscdn.c...
Nope, too late. I've already decided that Zack Snyder chose that song as a meta-message to the fans, to explain what he had to deal with in pre and post-production for Justice League. It makes way more sense that way.
And yes, I still want a Joss Whedon Batgirl movie! He had A LOT to lose, and very little to gain, by agreeing to work on Justice League. He didn't develop Justice League from the start. Him and Zack Snyder have opposite directing styles. And when the studio allows Zack Snyder to kill off Superman in a Justice League set-up movie, but then seemingly change their minds on liking how he planned on paying it off, you're left with expensive reshoots, and a CGI covered mustache. LOL
Kaingerc
December 4, 2017
are we at the stage where we have to analyze which part came from which director so we can know who to blame? seriously?!
what is the next stage, saying Whedon caused Snyder's daughter's suicide so he could get the job?
1. Dan
  December 4, 2017
  Oh god please don't give them such ideas. They will come up with endless arguments why its true.
  1. Alan Conn
    December 4, 2017
    Oh shut the fuck up u idiot.
    1. Dan
      December 4, 2017
      I was just talking about people with little intellect... Not you obiviuosly... Who are trying to make joss look like the devil himself... So i don't know why you feel offended because i was clearly referring to intolerant snyderfantrolls who just make up arguments. You clearly don't belong in that category so there is no need for calling someone an idiot. Have a nice day.
Frank Sinatra
December 4, 2017
I didn't like it... Something more powerfull like Adele's Skyfall does for its movie could have granted greater impact.
Kevin "The Cut Man" Tsujihara
December 4, 2017
Wrong! WE stuck it in Justice League
1. aGuyWhoIsLazy
  December 4, 2017
  Wrong! YOU stuck it TO Justice League.
  1. Kevin "The Cut Man" Tsujihara
    December 4, 2017
    I was trying to get them positive reviews from critics
Joe K.
December 4, 2017
Huge leonard Cohen fan and a huge fan of this cover and scene. I wish they would have included the batman missing dialogue and the actual on location shots of him finding Arthur. Also the WW scene with bomb going off like in the original footage. I think this might have made this scene even better.

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