The end of May brought an explosive piece of news to DC fans when it was announced that Zack Snyder's infamous Snyder Cut of Justice League was set to premiere on HBO Max in 2021 . Years of Snyder's cryptic hints, teases, and story reveals are finally going to come to fruition. Though there were many characters cut from the theatrical version of Justice League , including Martian Manhunter and Ryan Choi (the Atom) , Zack Snyder has only confirmed one cut character that will definitely be seeing his big-screen debut: the villainous Darkseid.
Portrayed by actor Ray Porter, Darkseid was a huge part of Zack Snyder's original plans for Justice League and the sequel it was initially going to have. However, Joss Whedon's cut of the team-up film deleted the references to the ruler of Apokolips in an attempt to simplify the film and give it a more definitive ending. All of Porter's hard work seemed doomed to stay on the cutting room floor, but Zack Snyder's recently released Snyder Cut teaser has revealed that Darkseid will indeed play a role in his version of Justice League.
NEWS
In an interview with The Arroyo Show , Darkseid actor Ray Porter revealed his thoughts on the Snyder Cut teaser. The brief footage Snyder posted online shows Diana Prince looking at an ominous painting of Darkseid before cutting to a flashback scene of the Dark God himself. Porter said:
"It’s really good. It’s really cool. I mean Gal Gadot, she looks terrified. It’s so cool.... It’s amazing to me that in 34 seconds Zack Snyder can pack more suspense and foreboding than a lot of people can in an entire film. Just looking at it externally and not like, ‘Oh look, that’s me.’ Looking at it, it’s really amazing. It’s only 34 seconds, but it’s huge. So, very exciting."
WHAT THIS MEANS
Ray Porter obviously has a lot of respect for Zack Snyder and his vision for Justice League . Porter previously revealed all the work he did with Snyder and screenwriter Chris Terrio to learn about the character and perfect his performance. It was a shame that the actor was cut from the final film, but fortunately, fans will still be able to see what Snyder and Porter had in store for the iconic villain.
While it still remains to be seen how much of the Dark God the Snyder Cut will actually feature, a deleted storyboard shows at least one other Darkseid appearance that was meant to be in the final film, and Porter has even teased his Darkseid voice , proving that the villain will definitely speak some chilling words to Steppenwolf, or even the Justice League.
More details from the Snyder Cut are set to be revealed at DC FanDome , DC's virtual comic-con event, and fans can surely expect Darkseid to be a huge talking point.
The Snyder Cut is set to release in 2021 on HBO Max.
