The DC cinematic universe may still be in its infancy, with two years to go until Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits the big screen, and at least three years until the Justice League forms, but today’s DC movie rumor takes us a bit farther into the future, to the eventual Justice League sequel.
Devin Faraci of Badass Digest dropped a possible bombshell in a recent article about Guardians of the Galaxy, by saying that Darkseid, the beloved Justice League villain many fans hope will give the superhero team hell in their first cinematic outing, may not appear until Justice League 2 (assuming there is a Justice League 2, of course).
“My sources tell me not to expect Darkseid in the DC movieverse until Justice League 2, so that means a Guardians 2 in 2017 would definitley have the Eternals beating the New Gods to the big screens.”
He’s referring to Marvel celestial baddies The Eternals, who were created by comic book legend Jack Kirby, after he left DC (where he had non-coincidentally created the New Gods, which includes Darkseid).
As far as not using Darkseid for the upcoming Justice League film, I personally think it’s a great idea. As famous, beloved, and badass as Darkseid is, Warner Brothers will need to be smart about how they craft their burgeoning shared universe, and that means slowly building toward the “big bads” like Darkseid. There are plenty of other villains the DCU to choose from that could give the JLA a run for their money, and it may be smarter for them to build Darkseid up over several films, like Marvel is doing with Thanos, then waste their biggest villainous asset right out of the gate.
What that means for both the DC and Marvel universes, which will continue to share character similarities as they both expand into the cosmic realms, remains to be seen. Plus, there’s always the chance that Faraci’s sources are incorrect, so make sure to take this rumor with an Apokolips-sized grain of salt.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters on May 6, 2016 while Justice League is expected to hit sometime in the summer of 2017. As far as Justice League 2 goes… well, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.