Apokoliptan invaders will be coming to Earth in Justice League, but rather than being led by the supreme Darkseid, the Parademon army will be commanding by Ciaran Hinds' Steppenwolf. Although we have yet to get a close-up of Steppenwolf's face, the Justice League previews have thus far done a good job of showing how determined the general from Apokolips is to lay waste to our world. But along with his ties to Apokolips and the Fourth World mythology, Justice League will also showcase Steppenwolf's connections to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's villains, i.e. Lex Luthor and Doomsday.
Along with confirming that Steppenwolf will still be Darkseid's uncle in the DCEU continuity, Hollywood Spotlight's coverage of Justice League mentioned that when Steppenwolf arrives on Earth, he's expected to work alongside Lex Luthor, who was imprisoned for his crimes at the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and seen communicating with Steppenwolf in the Ultimate Edition. The biggest tidbit, however, is where it's mentioned that in the DC Extended Universe, Steppenwolf and Doomsday have history. Just like in the comics, apparently Steppenwolf survived a battle with the monster in the cinematic continuity, serving as a testament to just how powerful the Apokoliptan military leader is.
Those who saw Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will remember that Doomsday died in battle with Superman, but let's not forget that this was just the latest Kryptonian deformity to be created, an act that was banned on Krypton by the Law Council. So it stands to reason that Steppenwolf didn't battle the "Doomsday" that killed Superman, but one of its predecessors long ago. But what's most curious about this latest report is the mention of Lex Luthor. Although Warner Bros officially announced last year that Jesse Eisenberg would reprise the newly-chrome domed bad guy, it was reported last month that Luthor had been cut from the movie, and he supposedly wasn't anywhere to be found in an early test screening. It's certainly possible that what was screened won't be Justice League's final cut, but that is indeed the finalized version, then don't expect to see Luthor scheming with Steppenwolf in the latest DCEU feature.
Following in his comic book counterpart's footsteps, Justice League's Steppenwolf serves Darkseid although when we meet him in the DC team-up movie, Ciara Hinds' character will be old, tired and trying to escape enslavement from his nephew. Before he can do that, he'll need to retrieve the three Mother Boxes that have been hidden on Earth for centuries, and afterwards destroy the planet. That seems easy enough to do, right? Well, with Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg standing in the way, Steppenwolf's job just became much more difficult.
Justice League opens in theaters on November 17. Look through our 2017 premiere guide to find out when the year's remaining movies are coming out.
