Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice laid a lot of groundwork for the DC Extended Universe, some of which was followed up on, some of which was not. Falling into the latter category was Darkseid, ruler of Apokolips and Steppenwolf’s master, who was supposed to appear in Justice League (played by Justified’s Ray Porter), but was left out of the theatrical cut.
Last month, director Zack Snyder posted a picture showing Darkseid in the distance during Justice League’s flashback battle sequence, but now we have a much better look at the villain’s younger self, when he was still known as Uxas.
While it was cool to see Uxas in the distance leading his Apokoliptan forces against humanity, Amazons, Atlanteans, Olympians and even a few Green Lanterns in ancient times, it’s definitely nice to be able to make out his features. Granted, he doesn’t look quite as physically imposing as he’s usually depicted in the present day, but he’s formidable nonetheless, and you can bet he left a lot of carnage in his wake during that battle for Earth so long ago.
In the original DC Comics continuity, Uxas was the son of King Yuga Khan and Queen Heggra. He was second-in-line for the Apokoliptan throne, but he seized that power for himself when he killed his older brother Frax and claimed the Omega Force that Drax had taken on his own. With that raw power coursing through him, Uxas was transformed into his recognizable rocky form and renamed himself Darkseid.
In the New 52 continuity, Uxas was instead a farmer who became Darkseid when he tricked the deities of his world into fighting one another, then killed them in their weakened states and stole their power. Whatever Darkseid’s origin is, his goal is to eliminate all free will from the universe and reshape reality as he sees fit, which he aims to the accomplish with the Anti-Life Equation.
Thus far, no details about Darkseid’s DCEU origins have been revealed. In fact, the only signs he exists in this continuity is through Batman v Superman’s Knightmare sequence (namely that giant Omega symbol burned into the ground) and Steppenwolf mentioning him just once in Justice League.
Given that Justice League critically and commercially underperformed, there are no plans to make Justice League 2 anytime soon, if at all. There’s still the chance that Darkseid could appear in the DCEU, most likely in Ava DuVernay’s New Gods, but for now, this picture that Zack Snyder shared on Vero remains our only official, close-up look at this franchise’s version of the character.
Apparently the original intention for Darkseid in Justice League, along with featuring him in the flashback battle sequence, was for him to appear in front of the movie’s heroes on the other side of a Boom Tube, presumably the same one that Steppenwolf was dragged through. That supposedly would have led to Darkseid battling the Justice Leaguers in Justice League 2, defeating them and “leveling” Earth, and then Justice League 3 would have seen the protagonists making one last stand against Darkseid and the forces of Apokolips.
Alas, those plans have almost certainly been shelved, but you can be sure that CinemaBlend will let you know about any major news regarding Darkseid’s future on the big screen. For now, you can keep track of what DC movies are currently in development with our handy guide.
