After Batman v Superman, we all pretty much knew who the villain of Justice League would be, right? Darkseid. Lex Luthor seemed to tease him in one of the film’s final images, talk about a being from beyond in his last speech and we even see his symbol in Batman’s dream. But this may not be the case.
Birth Movies Death reports that Darkseid does play a role in the film but that he’s not the main villain. That honour goes to Steppenwolf, a relative of Darkseid who has a very contentious relationship with the supreme being.
If that sounds like a random choice, well, you’re right, but there are a few things to remember. First, this is only a rumour; Birth Movies Death has strong sources in the DC Universe but until there’s an official confirmation, you have to take it with a grain of salt. On the other hand, it would totally explain why, on the Monday after its release, Warner Bros. released this strange deleted scene from Batman v Superman.
That weird gold thing is, almost certainly, Steppenwolf, although he looks very little like his comic book counterpart. This suggests Luthor wasn’t talking about Darkseid at the end of the film, he was talking about Steppenwolf. If that’s the case, though, why cut this direct tie to Justice League? Probably because it was even too weird for that movie.
You’d assume it will be less weird in Justice League, which will have a bunch of other heroes in it. Also, according to the rumour, Darkseid will appear or at least be a presence later in the movie, with a tease that leads into Justice League Part Two and other DC films. They aren’t bringing out their big gun just yet. Which is smart. But in a DC Universe with dozens of famous, exciting villains, is it smart to focus on one almost no one outside of comic fans know?
We’ll find out if this rumour is true 17 November 2017, when Zack Snyder’s Justice League Part 1 hits US theatres.