It takes a villain of tremendous power to properly serve as the Justice League's first enemy, and next year, Steppenwolf will fill that role in the DC Extended Universe. The Apokoliptan general and his Parademon forces are more than enough to keep the heroes busy, but he won't be the only bad guy causing trouble. Jesse Eisenberg is reprising Lex Luthor, and there has been speculation that Deathstroke could appear as well. Now a new photo has made it's way online that suggests those two could join forces in Justice League.
Director Zack Snyder posted the above picture on Twitter earlier today of him getting done wearing one of Batman gloves. It's amusing, but what he's looking at on his tablet is more interesting. After rotating the picture 180 degrees and zooming in, you can see storyboard panels depicting two figures meeting in some kind of office or conference room. The first person is wearing an eyepatch and has a sword on their back. While we can't say with 100% certainty, it's a good bet that's Deathstroke, as he's both skilled with a blade and cycloptic. The person he's talking to is only seen from behind, but they're bald. There are a lot of bald folks in the world, but when it comes to all things DC Comics, Lex Luthor is the most famous of the bunch.
Assuming Deathstroke and Lex Luthor are the figures in those storyboard panels, what's going on in that scene? It's hard to say, but since Deathstroke is a mercenary, it would be reasonable to assume that Lex hires him for a job, which, given the movie, could mean attacking one or all of the Justice Leaguers. On the other hand, given that Steppenwolf will be keeping the heroes occupied, maybe this Deathstroke/Luthor interaction is a subplot that culminates in either a twist at the end of the story or sets up a future movie. If you have your own ideas, let us know in the comments below.
The last time we saw Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, he had been incarcerated (with plans to move him to Arkham Asylum, as revealed in the Ultimate Edition) and had his head shaved. Since he's presumably still behind bars when Justice League begins, the storyboard implies that he'll either escape or is freed, leaving him up plot new sinister, insane plans. As for Deathstroke, a.k.a. Slade Wilson, Ben Affleck first teased his DCEU debut last month when he posted a video of someone dressed in the mercenary's costume. It was later confirmed that Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello will play Deathstroke in the solo Batman movie, but since Justice League is still shooting, many wondered if the one-eyed villain would also make an appearance in the superhero team-up flick. If we're analyzing Zack Snyder's photo correctly, he will indeed play some kind of role that involves him crossing paths with Luthor.
Justice League hits theaters on November 17, 2017.
