Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice seemed to make one thing abundantly clear: Darkseid, the big bad villain of the DC universe, was coming.
Batman's visions seemed to imply it, featuring both Darkseid's signature Omega symbol and his loyal Parademon minions. Lex Luthor's ramblings at the end of the film talked of some otherworldly threat coming to Earth. A deleted scene released shortly after the premiere of the movie seemed to tease it.
However, according to a new rumor, Darkseid might not have as large a role in Zack Snyder's upcoming Justice League film as previously assumed. The rumor comes from Birth.Movies.Death, a movie rumor site that has proven fairly reliable in the past. The site claims that, rather than Darkseid himself, the main villain of the film will actually be Darkseid's uncle, Steppenwolf.
Steppenwolf in the comics is a relatively minor character, though he does serve as the military leader of Darkseid's world of Apokolips. Here's what Birth.Movies.Death says about the villain's role in the movie:
"In Justice League Steppenwolf has a contentious history with Darkseid, which could be why he's invading the Earth," the site reports. "But stopping him — and, I'm assuming, his Parademon hordes — requires more power than the members of the Justice League can muster, and so they must turn to a dead friend for help ..."
The site goes on to claim that Darkseid is a "presence" in the film, but that he will only appear in full at the end. In a way, it makes sense. In Marvel's Cinematic Universe films, Thanos has long been the mastermind lurking behind the scenes of various movies. He will finally get his moment in the spotlight in Avengers: Infinity War, after years of minor appearances.
It looks like DC and Warner Bros. might also want to build up to Darkseid in a similar way, with the villain playing a minor role in the first film and then becoming the main villain in Justice League Part Two. Steppenwolf also isn't completely out of left field. The deleted scene released by Warner Bros. (and which will be included in the Batman v Superman extended cut) features an appearance by what some fans guessed could be Steppenwolf, though a far different version of him than we've seen before. Perhaps the extended home release of the film will shine more light on the subject.
Justice League Part One is slated for a Nov. 17, 2017 release.
