JUSTICE LEAGUE: Zack Snyder Elaborates On Desaad's Role And Scenes With Darkseid And Steppenwolf

The DC FanDome trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League confirmed that we'll see Desaad in his version of the movie, and the filmmaker has now elaborated on what role the villain will play in this cut...

By JoshWilding - Nov 20, 2020 05:11 AM EST

Filed Under: Justice League

Zack Snyder's Justice League remains on track to debut on HBO Max next year, and we have another excerpt from the fiilmmaker's recent live commentary to share with you today. This is noteworthy because Snyder has now shared some intel on what fans can expect from Desaad.

In the comic books, this character is a sadist, torturer, and treacherous coward who serves as the chief counsellor to Darkseid. He oversees the day-to-day operations of Apokolips with a cruel hand, and it's sounding a lot like Justice League will portray him in a similar manner. Snyder describes him as a "go-between" between Steppenwolf and Darkseid, but there may be more to him that just that.

The director adds that while Desaad is the "agent" Steppenwolf interacts with via a "super cool" hologram, he's also a character who "offers us a lot of backstories" when it comes to the two lead baddies.

This is definitely intriguing, and it's clear that Desaad hasn't been added to the movie just for the sake of it. It's surprising that Joss Whedon chose to completely wipe him from his cut, but Darkseid was nowhere to be seen, either, so Apokolips was clearly something Warner Bros. wanted to remove entirely.

What do you hope to see from Desaad in Zack Snyder's Justice League?

Click on the "Next" button below to see 10 more characters
who should be enlisted for Justice League's reshoots!

10. Ocean Master

It's obvious that Patrick Wilson's Orm will return in the planned Aquaman sequel, but there's a way Justice League can shed some more light on what Atlantis was like under his watch.

Zack Snyder would no doubt jump at the chance to work with Wilson again (and vice versa), and it would be great to reveal that Ocean Master was somehow involved in the way Mera treated Arthur Curry when he first visited Atlantis...or, well, the outskirts. With Amber Heard confirmed to be part of the movie's reshoots, it seems obvious that Atlantis will have a greater role to play here.

Handled the right way, this could even tie into whatever James Wan has planned for Aquaman 2.

9. The Wizard

Zack Snyder is almost certainly going to put a greater focus on Darkseid and Steppenwolf's first invasion of Earth in The Snyder Cut, and that could lead to more than a blink-and-you'd-miss-it Green Lantern cameo.

With Black Adam set to explore the DC Extended Universe's history, it makes perfect sense for The Wizard to be part of this battle, helping repel those Parademons alongside men, Atlanteans, and Amazons. Djimon Hounsou hasn't been confirmed for the Black Adam movie yet, but it wouldn't make sense for another actor to take on this role, and this has the potential to be a fun cameo.

If Warner Bros. has all their ducks in a row, this could even tie into The Rock's movie in some way!

8. Antiope

Robin Wright's Antiope was spotted (we think) in Joss Whedon's version of Justice League, but with that battle set thousands of years in the past such an afterthought, the Amazons were sidelined.

The Wonder Woman star has indicated that she once had a much larger role to play in proceedings, and we'll no doubt see more of her in The Snyder Cut. However, these reshoots are a chance to give Antiope and her fellow Amazons an even bigger part to play, and it would be no bad thing for Diana Prince's future ally to find herself going toe to toe with Darkseid himself!

There's definitely more that can be done with the character, so fingers crossed she makes a return.

7. Captain Boomerang

One of Suicide Squad's best moments came when it was revealed that the Flash was responsible for putting Captain Boomerang behind bars. Common sense says he's probably remained in the custody of Amanda Waller following Task Force X's first adventure, but what if he escaped at the same time as Harley Quinn? It's definitely not outside the realm of possibility.

After all, there was a "Wanted" poster in Birds of Prey featuring Boomer, and with Justice League set to follow Barry Allen to Central City, it's entirely possible he could stop the villain a second time.

Making this a recurring gag would be pretty funny, and there's no reason it couldn't be touched on (again) in The Suicide Squad. You have to believe Jai Courtney would definitely be up for another cameo.

6. Black Canary

Okay, we're cheating a little here, but bear with us!

Birds of Prey wasn't exactly a massive hit for Warner Bros., but the characters it introduced had a tonne of potential. With any luck, they'll get to return further down the line, but if The Joker's return means we're spending more time in Gotham City, could we finally meet the original Black Canary?

It was mentioned that she died protecting her home, and there's a chance the Clown Prince of Crime is responsible for gunning her down. If we're getting a flashback to Robin's death, it could even be revealed that this Canary was romantically involved with the Dark Knight and followed him into battle.

5. Thomas Wayne

Unfortunately, it's looking increasingly unlikely that Jeffrey Dean Morgan will get the chance to don Batman's cape and cowl in The Flash, but there's still a way he could return as Thomas Wayne.

If it's in Justice League that the Fastest Man Alive first discovers his ability to travel through time and the Multiverse, he could catch a glimpse of the "Flashpoint" Batman (this could even be the moment he meets Grant Gustin's Flash and learns of the existence of other worlds).

Just a single shot of this Batman would be welcomed by fans and could be expanded on in The Flash.

4. Jonathan Kent

Kevin Costner recently played coy when asked about possibly returning as Jonathan Kent in Zack Snyder's Justice League, and it does seem likely he could be asked to come back for this version of the movie.

Pa Kent may be dead and gone, but when Superman rises from the grave, it wouldn't be remotely surprising for him to have a vision involving his adoptive father. It certainly had an impact in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and another "meeting" could give Clark Kent some long overdue closure.

He's not the biggest name character here, but definitely one who could add a lot to The Snyder Cut.

3. Harley Quinn

Much to Suicide Squad director David Ayer's chagrin, graphics added to his movie after the fact revealed that Harley Quinn was complicit in the murder of Robin (which, admittedly, screws up the timeline).

Assuming Zack Snyder's Justice League shows us the day the Boy Wonder was killed, it would make sense for Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn to make some sort of cameo appearance. That scene should definitely be a priority, but even something in "present day" Gotham City could be a fun use of Harley, especially if it explains why she broke up with the Clown Prince of Crime.

Whatever the case may be, more Batman and Harley Quinn on screen would be no bad thing.

2. Amanda Waller

In Suicide Squad's mid-credits scene, Bruce Wayne was shown meeting with Amanda Waller and warning her that his team would take down Task Force X if they dared step out of line.

Waller had a threat of her own, of course, as it was obvious she knew that Bruce is also Batman.

Their meeting could be expanded on here or, failing that, we could even see Waller refuse to help the Caped Crusader and his League of heroes during the final battle against Steppenwolf. Another possibility is that the flash-forward to that "Knightmare" future reveals that the villains ultimately turned on their taskmaster and joined Darkseid when he conquered the Earth.

1. Doomsday

There's no denying that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice disappointed when it came to the portrayal of Doomsday, but perhaps Zack Snyder can make that right with his Justice League?

With more time to fill, you have to believe the filmmaker will want to add more action, and the "original" Doomsday appearing somewhere - perhaps in a battle between the Kryptonians and Darkseid - could be a nice way of making up for how weird he ended up looking in the 2015 release.

Alternatively, the monster could return in the present day, but that might be one threat too many!

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83 Comments

1 2 3

BreakTheCode - 11/20/2020, 5:33 AM

Holding out hope this won’t suck but I don’t have much faith.

aresww3 - 11/20/2020, 6:40 AM

@BreakTheCode - maybe i'm just crazy, but this small teaser got me more hyped for ww84 than zack's whole 4 hour movie. I think wonder woman is being underrestimated again