And DC’s Justice League has finally found it’s big bad. Well, we already knew that the villain in the upcoming team-up would actually be Steppenwolf and not the even bigger and badder Darkseid, who’s been strongly hinted at but more than likely held back for a future tussle with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the gang. Now though, we know who will be playing Steppenwolf: veteran actor Ciaran Hinds!
The Irish born actor has been around for years, but most recently gained renewed fame as the “King Beyond the Wall” Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones. At 6ft1, Hinds has an imposing stature, but at 63-year old he may not be able to go up against the physicality of Ben Affleck’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman. Luckily he won’t actually have to, because much like Marvel did with Josh Brolin’s Thanos, Steppenwolf will be a completely CG character, with Hinds just providing the motion-capture.
Or rather he provided the motion-capture, as The Wrap reveals that he has already wrapped up his role on the superhero ensemble film, and now it’s up director Zack Snyder and his army of digital artists to bring the character to life on screen. Now we’ve actually already seen Steppenwolf on screen in one of the deleted scenes that was included back into the improved Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman. However, the report reveals that Hinds’ Steppenwolf will his appearance “upgraded” since then.
In the DC Comics’ New 52 continuity, Steppenwolf is a feared lieutenant of Darkseid, a godlike tyrant from the planet Apokalips. Darkseid sends Steppenwolf to lead his Parademon forces in an invasion of Earth. In the deleted scene in BvS, Lex Luthor is seen communicating to Steppenwolf via alien technology in a crashed Kryptonian ship. Also present are three Mother Boxes – think cube-like alien computers so advanced they may as well be magic – which was revealed by producer Charles Roven was lost on Earth in distant past, and is Steppenwolf’s primary reason for coming to our planet.
Justice League will also star Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Willem Dafoe as Vulko and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. Justice League is scheduled for release on November 17, 2017.
Last Updated: November 7, 2016
