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Zack Snyder Pitched Ryan Choi Atom Spin-Off After Justice League


One of the best things about Zack Snyder's Justice League is the return of several POC characters who were removed from the theatrical cut. One important character of note is Ryan Choi and as it turns out, Snyder actually pitched an Atom spin-off that would focus on the young hero after the Snyder Cut.

Before the release of the Snyder Cut, Ryan Zheng had actually filmed scenes as Ryan Choi for Justice League. However, the scenes were removed from the theatrical cut. Luckily, those scenes and more have been brought back in Snyder's new film and it gave Ryan a hopeful tease at becoming Atom in the future.

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Interestingly, Ryan's introduction isn't the only thing that Snyder had wanted for the character. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he revealed that he had huge plans for Atom and went as far as pitching it to Warner Bros.

"I had been pitching Warners to do an Atom movie with him in China, like a Chinese-cast superhero movie. That was my goal," Snyder stated.

It sounds like Snyder had been hoping to explore Ryan's origin story and his eventual transformation into Atom. In the comics, Ryan was a young boy living in China who had been a longtime protege of Ray Palmer. He later moves to Ivy Town to investigate Ray's disappearance and ultimately takes on the Atom mantle.

This isn't the first time we're seeing Ryan Choi in live-action. He was played by Osric Chau in the Arrowverse crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths in 2019. Technically, Zheng's version of the character would have been seen first if Ryan wasn't removed from the theatrical cut. Nevertheless, we're glad that the character has been restored.

What do you think of an Atom spin-off starring Ryan Zheng? Sound off in the comments below. In the meantime, you can see more of Ryan Choi in Zack Snyder's Justice League, which is now available on HBO Max and various streaming services worldwide.

Related: All the Differences Between the Snyder Cut and Theatrical Release of Justice League Explained

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