One of the most notable changes made with Snyder’s “Justice League” was his inclusion of DC’s greatest villain in the film. A foe so powerful that he threatens the very existence of the multiverse itself! The Lord of Apokolips and the God of Evil: Darkseid. A foe who is most definitely worthy of the combined might of the heroes of Earth and beyond. He’s essentially the DC Extended Universe’s (DCEU) answer to Marvel’s Thanos.
Within the realm of comics, Darkseid is best known for his insane power and his obsessive pursuit of the Anti-Life Equation. A metaphysical power that allows Darkseid to bend the universe to his will. Regardless of what we thought of the Snyder Cut, we’d still very much like to see the New God making an appearance in the DCEU. While he did make his debut in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”, the film is technically not considered canon.
That being said, we’re not giving up hope on seeing our favourite rock-faced deity dominating the silver-screen. There are actually a myriad of ways Darkseid could still enter into the DCEU. So join us as we run them all down!
1. Ava DuVernay’s New Gods Film
Let’s kick off this list with the most obvious avenue for Darkseid to enter into the DCEU. As far back as 2018, we’ve been hearing news of Ava DuVernay, the director behind critically acclaimed films like “Selma” and Netflix’s “13th”, taking up an ambitious project. Working alongside Warner Bros, she plans on bringing a “New Gods” film to the big screen. Now we’ve covered who the New Gods are in the past but we’ll do a brief refresher. Essentially, the New Gods are a group of highly powerful cosmic beings who exist outside of DC’s Multiverse. Gods who are capable of wiping out entire universes…including the DCEU.
There are two major factions of New Gods. One living on the paradise planet of New Genesis led by the wise and righteous Highfather. The other being the forces of Apokolips controlled by the God of Evil himself, Darkseid. Based on a post on the director’s official Twitter account, DuVernay has pretty much confirmed Darkseid’s appearance in her future “New Gods” film. At the current moment unfortunately, the film is being shelved to make way for other DCEU films in the works. Though, Warner did tease the possibility of “New Gods” returning with DuVernay’s help. For now, we’ll have to wait and see.
2. Wonder Woman 3
Whether it’s Joss Whedon or director Zack Snyder’s version of “Justice League”, we know one thing for sure. At some point in time, the New Gods of Apokolips did indeed clash with the Greek Gods of the DCEU. Namely during Apokolips’ first invasion of Earth. In Wonder Woman’s flashback, we see Atlanteans and humans repel waves of Parademons alongside the gods. We see a young Zeus, Ares and Artemis battle against the forces of darkness. If not for them, the world would have surely fallen. Here’s the thing though, the Old Gods are gone. All destroyed by Ares sometime after the invasion. Now is the perfect time for Darkseid and his forces to return to fight. While there are new heroes to defend Earth, none of them are truly gods. Safe for one perhaps, Wonder Woman.
Director Patty Jenkins responsible for both “Wonder Woman” films has confirmed that she fully intends on working on a third film. As of what the plot entails, though, nothing has been said so far. Furthermore, Jenkins is probably busy at work with yet another major franchise, “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron”. Using the world of Greek mythology and Wonder Woman, she could use her upcoming third film to incorporate a new pantheon into the mix. Diana, who is essentially Earth’s divine ambassador, could see herself facing off against Darkseid and his minions as he returns to conquer Earth once again. We could also see some awesome flashback scenes between how the Old Gods of Earth and the New Gods warred in the past. Now that would be a true clash of titans!
3. HBO’s Green Lantern Series
Harry Lennix says Martian Manhunter and John Stewart were originally going to appear together at the end of #ZackSnydersJusticeLeague
Warner Bros made Zack Snyder take out Green Lantern
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— ScreenTime (@screentime) April 2, 2021
Late last year, HBO Max announced that they’d be collaborating with DC Comics in creating a live-action “Green Lantern” series. A series that would see these intergalactic peacekeepers travel to different worlds. Defending the denizens of the universe from those that would seek to prey upon them. Earth has the Justice League but the universe has the Green Lanterns. In our coverage of these Emerald Knights, we also mentioned that the series would be taking place within Earth-12 of the DC multiverse. The same multiverse that acknowledges both Flashes of the CW and DCEU continuity. Safe to say, these Emerald Knights are aware of the existence of different universes…and perhaps the evil that threatens all realities.
The Green Lanterns of Earth-12 are tasked with the defense of the entire universe. It just so happens that Darkseid and his armies are notorious for conquering and enslaving whole universes. In comics, Darkseid and his general Steppenwolf laid waste to the Earth-2 universe before claiming it for their own. While the designation for the main DCEU world has yet to be revealed, we do know that the New Gods ultimately failed in their first invasion. That was merely one invasion, though. HBO’s “Green Lantern” could explore the other invasions. Perhaps, we may even witness one that succeeded.
4. Justice League 2
As we’ve mentioned earlier, Zack Snyder’s vision of “Justice League”, as of now, is not considered canon. So chances of the Snyderverse’s Darkseid being made official probably isn’t happening. That would certainly make Joss Whedon’s theatrical release the “real one” so to speak. While Warner Bros has been placing more emphasis on solo projects over big ensemble films for the past few years, there’s still a chance we could get a sequel to “Justice League”. Like it or not, the film did serve as a launchpad for other films like “Aquaman” and “Shazam”. With characters acknowledging the events of Whedon’s film with Mera reminding Arthur Curry that he helped defeat Steppenwolf.
With that in mind, an official sequel to Whedon’s “Justice League” could very well still happen. Perhaps not within the next two to three years but after some significant time between Snyder and Whedon’s films. They could pick up where the League left off in the previous film with Darkseid making his move on the planet where Steppenwolf failed. For all we know, Warner Bros could have done a soft reboot with the League, bringing in new actors to replace old ones. We don’t think Warner Bros has given up on the idea of a Justice League film. It’s possible that they’re merely bidding their time until the right moment to revisit that idea comes about.
5. The Flash
If you’re not willing to wait that long, there is a sliver of possibility that we may yet see Darkseid by 2022. As we’ve mentioned in a previous piece, the character of the Flash is capable of serving as a sort of restart-button for the DCEU. As seen in the DC animated film “Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox”, Barry has the power to change entire timelines using the Speed Force. He’s also supposedly tampered with the main DCEU timeline with him warning Bruce about Lois being the key to saving the world from a dark future. One that sees Darkseid’s forces conquering Earth with an evil Superman leading the charge. This is otherwise known as the Knightmare scenario.
The question is this: What if Flash created a Flashpoint event that unintentionally brought about the end of the world? One in which Darkseid and his armies have overrun the planet, leaving the League dead or scattered. Now that would be a neat way to tie the visions as seen in “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” to “The Flash”. At the very least, it would give us a reason to explore the Knightmare timeline and see how Darkseid won his war against the League. We know for a fact that producer Barbara Muschietti does plan on using the film to restart the DCEU. There’s a strong possibility that we could see alternate versions of the timeline. After all, we’re already seeing alternate versions of Batman in the film.
So what do you think? Which film or TV series should Darkseid make his official appearance? Or should he just stay where he is in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
