2016 has been a strange, strange year all around. As far as movies go, though, one of the most unpredictable moments of the year came when Warner Bros. unceremoniously posted a cryptic deleted scene from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice online just three days after the movie hit theaters. They didn’t explain it, they just left it hanging out there for fans to dissect like some kind of new generation of post-credits scene.
If you somehow don’t remember that scene (which was later reinserted into Zack Snyder’s Ultimate Cut of the film), it featured Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor using Kryptonian technology to interact with an unnamed, giant, alien being. Fan theories went into overdrive, with most eventually settling on the idea that it was the character Steppenwolf. And now we not only have that character confirmed as being a part of Justice League, but we know who is playing him: Ciaran Hinds.
Hinds is no stranger to popping up in geek-friendly properties. He played Aberforth Dumbledor in Harry Potter, Tardos Mors in John Carter, Mance Rayder on Game of Thrones, and has even already been in superhero territory thanks to Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. The Wrap reports he’s already done filming his material for Justice League, which was all motion capture work. They also say the character will look different in Justice League than he did in BvS, but they gave no reason for, or description of, the change.
We also don’t officially know how Steppenwolf, who in the comics serves at the malicious behest of Darkseid, will factor into the story, but it’s said that he’s searching for ancient alien technology called motherboxes (also seen in the clip below), which is now hidden on Earth.
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Justice League will hit theaters on November 17, 2017.