Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf is a fictional character in the DC Extended Universe film series, based on the supervillain of the same name from DC Comics and portrayed by actor Ciarán Hinds. First appearing in the Ultimate edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as a hologram, the character makes his first live-action appearance in the theatrical release of the film Justice League. Steppenwolf is a demonic warlord from the planet Apokolips aiming to conquer Earth and its inhabitants. During the film's troubled production, the character was heavily redesigned by Joss Whedon, who had taken over directorial duties for Zack Snyder. This iteration of the character received negative reviews and was criticized as underwhelming and generic. Snyder's director's cut of the film depicts Steppenwolf as originally envisioned, with this portrayal of the character receiving praise for depth in characterization, more visual appeal, and a sympathetic motivation. Character development and design The character of Steppenwolf originally appeared in 1972 as a New God associated with Darkseid and Apokolips in New Gods #7, and is traditionally a recurring villain against Superman and the Justice League. Prior to his inclusion in the DC Extended Universe, Steppenwolf briefly appeared in several works in the DC Animated Universe such as Superman: The Animated Series and the Justice League animated series, and later in other cartoons such as Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Justice League Action. Suicide Squad director David Ayer revealed that Enchantress was originally the supporting villain in the film and was under the control of Steppenwolf via a Mother Box, but that this plot element was removed during pre-production, due to rewrites of Justice League, which originally had Darkseid as the main villain. Steppenwolf was then moved over to Justice League and replaced by Enchantress's brother Incubus in Suicide Squad, with Enchantress being made the primary antagonist. Irish actor Ciarán Hinds was cast to portray Steppenwolf in Justice League through voice and motion capture. Hinds received advice from Liam Neeson (who had done similar motion capture work in A Monster Calls) for his performance.