Originally published April 5, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
Though the trailer for Justice League teased a lot of action and spectacle, its main villain was kept well under wraps. Steppenwolf had a very brief cameo in the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but beyond that and being portrayed by Rome and Game of Thrones actor Ciaran Hinds, we don’t know much about him. Hinds, however, recently spoke to Independent and teased what we can see from Steppenwolf in the upcoming film.
“I never read any of those comic books as a kid. So it’s all fairly new to me,” Hinds said, noting that it didn’t stop him from being cast as the villain, possibly due to director Zack Snyder’s love for one of Hinds’ most famous films:
“They were great fans of Excalibur, Zack and his team. Maybe that’s how I got the role in Justice League! Who knows? There’s a bit [in Batman v Superman] when they’re walking in Gotham City and suddenly on a marquee of a cinema you see Excalibur playing.”
Superman’s death at the end of the film could also be a homage to Excalibur when he is impaled by Doomsday’s bone spear, with Hinds adding: “That’s exactly what happened in Excalibur, with Nigel Terry [who played King Arthur] pierced by Mordred.”
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Hinds also spoke about how his performance as Steppenwolf was done with motion-capture technology, something that was entirely new to him. He call the mo-cap suit “very tight and embarrassing,” adding that “Basically they’re going to construct something, digitally, and then they will use my eyes and mouth.”
He even got advice for the mo-cap suit and performance from his friend and Hollywood legend Liam Neeson, who is doing his own mo-cap performance in A Monster Calls: “He sent me a little pamphlet of stuff – with him looking much more elegant than I was, I have to say.”
As to what we can expect from Steppenwolf, Hinds’ revelation was rather surprising, suggesting a more subdued kind of villain than we may think and one who could be just as much a victim of Darkseid’s evil as the rest of the universe: “He’s old, tired, still trying to get out of his own enslavement to Darkseid, but he has to keep on this line to try and take over worlds.”
What do you think about Hinds’ take on Steppenwolf? Are you excited to see it and possibly more homages to Excalibur? Let us know below…
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Justice League will reunite Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jason Mamoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta alongside J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) as Commissioner Gordon, Amber Heard (The Danish Girl) as Mera, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) as Vulko, Kiersey Clemons (Dope) as Iris West, Ciaran Hinds (Game of Thrones) as Steppenwolf and Julian Lewis Jones (Stella) in an as-yet-unrevealed role.
