The Snyder Cut only continues to keep DC fans brimming with anticipation as new gripping revelations have come to light. In addition to the expected sight of Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash, other characters who were previously excluded from the 2017 theatrical release of Justice League will be involved in director Zack Snyder’s new official cut.
This is not just counting the baddies whose roles in the film are expanding from one brief fight scene (such as the God of War Ares, originally played by David Thewlis) or a post-credits sequence (Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor and Joe Manganiello as Slade “Deathstroke” Wilson). Several fan favorite DC characters, mostly through reshoots, will be added into the new four-hour cut, which will be presented in four separate chapters when it drops exclusively on HBO Max in 2021. Some of these characters will be a reprise from a previous DCEU installment, while others will be making their live action debut - or, at least, their official debut into the franchise.
I have the utmost respect for the kind of fan who would rather go into this new edition of Justice League with a freshly clean slate and discover the newly added characters as they appear on screen at the first viewing. However, not only is that sort of feat nearly impossible these days, but such a comic book movie rarely exists. So, for those who cannot keep a lid on their anticipation (and understandably so), the following is a comprehensive list of the characters you should expect to show up in the Snyder Cut - starting with one I never would have expected to get the last laugh after all.
The Joker (Jared Leto)
In 2016, Jared Leto performed a new take on Batman’s clownish arch nemesis in Suicide Squad that was polarizing, to say the least, with some (including Leto himself) arguing the portrayal was was not given enough screen time to judge properly. Well, it appears the Academy Award-winner (who has also joined the Sony Marvel family as the titular living vampire in Morbius) will be given a fair shot in when he reprises The Joker for Zack Snyder’s Justice League - a completely new idea for the upcoming recut that could mean we will finally see Batfleck interact with his universe’s Clown Prince of Crime.
Darkseid (Ray Porter)
While Jared Leto’s Joker is getting a second chance in the Snyder Cut, getting his first chance is Darkseid - a New God and Apokolips’ tyrannical leader, created by Jack Kirby in 1970, hellbent on conquering the universe by suppressing all hope and free will. Actor Ray Porter (who recently played multiple roles in an audio play adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman) will star as the iconic DC villain in a motion capture performance for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, technically marking the character’s live action feature film debut.
Desaad (Peter Guinness)
Even the most power-hungry, ego-centric tyrants need a right-hand man, and that is what Desaad has been to Darkseid since he manipulated him to his level as a child, turning him into the deceptive, sadistic torture specialist he is known as today. Veteran English actor Peter Guinness will also be using motion capture to portray the villain, who looks a lot more more monstrous from his brief glimpse in the Snyder Cut trailer than the comics had depicted him.
Nuidis Vulko (Willem Dafoe)
Looking comparatively more human (or just skinnier, really) than his illustrated counterpart is Arthur Curry’s (Jason Momoa) mentor Nuidis Vulko brought to life by Willem Dafoe in the 2018 blockbuster hit Aquaman. The Academy Award nominee - no stranger to comic book movies from playing Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy - shot scenes that were deleted from the theatrical release of Justice League, but will be reworked into the Snyder Cut, which is the extent of all we currently know about Vulko’s role in the film.
The Atom (Ryan Zheng)
There was also footage of Chinese actor and The Great Wall star Ryan Zheng as Ryan Choi (Ray Palmer’s successor of the Atom moniker) that ended up on the cutting room, rendering his involvement in Justice League to a blink-and-miss-it Easter Egg. Fortunately, Zheng’s scenes will be revived in the Snyder Cut, giving this lesser-known iteration of shrinking DC hero his live action feature debut after Osric Chau appeared as him in the Arrowverse’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover event.
Elinore Stone (Karen Bryson)
Perhaps one of the more frustrating character removals from the theatrical release is Elinore, the mother of Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) - who was intended to play a brief, yet pivotal, role in her son’s arc, having passed in the car accident that led his father, Silas (Joe Morton), to rebuild him as Cyborg. Yet, the sight of English actress Karen Bryson as Elinore Stone cheering for her son at a high school football game in the trailer for Zack Snyder’s Justice League assured us that she will be worked into the new cut, hinting at a proper portrayal of Victor’s story this time.
Iris West (Kiersey Clemons)
The 2017 theatrical release also did not provide the full extent of Barry Allen’s (Ezra Miller) intended story, leaving out any mention of Iris West - his love interest whom Kiersey Clemons was cast to play in 2016 for The Flash solo movie. It was revealed soon after that she filmed a cameo for Justice League, which also never saw the light of day until it resurfaced in the Snyder Cut promo footage, meaning audiences will bear witness to the Antebellum star’s long-awaited DC moment come 2021.
Martian Manhunter (Harry Lennix)
Speaking of long-awaited moments, fans have anticipated the live action motion picture debut of J'onn J'onzz (better known as Martian Manhunter) hotly enough to suggest a theory that Calvin Swanwick (played by Harry Lennix in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) is really the shapeshifting alien cop in disguise. Well, apparently, that was the original plan all along and will officially come to fruition in Zack Snyder’s Justice League when the former Matrix sequels actor reprises the DCEU role for the ultimate reveal.
What do you think? Are you excited by the upcoming sight of Calvin Stanwick as the real Martian Manhunter, or is there another character whom you would be more intrigued see in Zack Snyder’s Justice League? To find out if that dream may eventually come true, be sure to check back for additional information and updates on the Snyder Cut, as well as even more insight into what is going on in the world of comic book adaptations, here on CinemaBlend.
