With Zack Snyder’s Justice League finally dropping next week, it’s getting to the point that we can’t move for trailers for the director’s cut. Alongside the daily promos that showcase one member of the superhero team at a time, this new teaser has come our way via Twitch and, instead of focusing on the heroes, it puts the spotlight on three of the fan favorite villains who will be appearing in the movie.
Namely, Jared Leto’s Joker, Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke and, most importantly, Darkseid, who’s portrayed by Ray Porter. The evil ruler of Apokolips is the star of the teaser, with his ominous voiceover running throughout. The promo opens with the cosmic tyrant sitting on his throne, flanked by minions Desaad and Granny Goodness, before we get a range of clips from three timelines – the ancient battle between Earth and Apokolips, the dystopian Knightmare timeline and the League battling Steppenwolf in the present.
It’s the Knightmare material that might be most exciting to fans, though, as we see a glimpse of Knightmare Batman and Knightmare Flash making what looks to be an unlikely alliance with both Joker and a mohawk-sporting Slade Wilson. Remember, this is a timeline in which Darkseid has corrupted Superman and succeeded in subjugating the planet. Something that the New God teases in this promo. “I have turned 100,000 worlds to dust, looking for those who robbed me of my glory,” he intones. “I will stride across their bones… And all of existence shall be mine.”
Darkseid didn’t feature at all in the theatrical cut, but he’ll have a significant presence in the Snyder version. That said, the thankfully redesigned Steppenwolf will remain the film’s main antagonist, although it’ll be clearer who his boss is in this cut. The villain was supposed to have a much bigger role in Justice League 2 and 3, but it’s currently unknown if HBO Max is going to commission those or not.
All four hours of Zack Snyder’s Justice League premiere on HBO Max next Thursday, March 18th.