B.C.-born singer lends voice to highly anticipated Zack Snyder Justice League film

A Nanaimo-born singer who posted her cover of the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah online over a decade ago will have her vocals featured in the upcoming DC comics superhero saga Zack Snyder's Justice League after the filmmaker himself, who has a deep personal connection to the song, saw her video and contacted her.

Allison Crowe posted the video of herself singing the iconic Canadian tune to YouTube in 2006. The song, according to Crowe, was Snyder's daughter Autumn's favourite which may be why it caught his attention. Snyder tried to fit it into his 2009 film, The Watchmen but in the end, the Cohen original was used. 

Now, in the wake of Autumn's untimely death, Crowe's version of the song has become deeply personal to the Snyder family and will have its debut in a film Snyder fans have been clamouring for for years.

In 2017, Snyder walked away from the production of the ensemble superhero movie Justice League after 20-year-old Autumn took her own life.

WATCH | Allison Crowe perfoming her cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah:

Snyder and his wife and producing partner Deborah Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter they would be taking time away to focus on their family and seven children.

During that time, the Snyders contacted Crowe and asked if she would sing Hallelujah at Autumn's funeral.

And Crowe did.

"If someone is hurting and someone has asked you to do something that can bring them solace ... that's sort of my job," the singer said during an interview on CBC's On The Island.

The Snyders are cornerstone players in Warner Bros. production of DC Comics films. Zack Snyder directed both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Man of Steel and served as a producer on the additional films in the DC Universe, Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman.

WATCH | The trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League:

Justice League was completed by another filmmaker and released to mixed reviews. For the past three years, fans have been clamouring for the release of Snyder's original cuts and on March 18 it will hit living rooms on HBO Max — with a reported $70 million in new special effects.

"He thought now was the time as sort of a dedication to Autumn," said Crowe, about using her track.

In 2009, she said her version was determined to be 'too beautiful' for The Watchmen's moody tone which is why the Cohen cut was used instead.

Crowe said being in the new film feels like a "full circle moment."

The singer now lives in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and said locals helped her track down a grand piano at the community's Rotary Arts Centre and record the song for the soundtrack.

When the four-hour director's cut drops in a couple of weeks, she hopes COVID-19 measures will allow her to have a couple of friends over to watch.

"We will all be in our fanciest comfy pants," said Crowe.

 Zack Snyder's Justice League features actors Henry Cavill as Superman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Jason Momoa as Aquaman. 

LISTEN | Allison Crowe talks about having her singing in Zack Snyder's film: