Thanks to a remarkably candid set visit for the upcoming Justice League movie, we know for sure who the first bad guy is that the new team will be facing. What we don't know is who will be playing him. It's been confirmed that Steppenwolf will be the primary antagonist of next year's DC comics movie. Now a new rumor is circulating that Warner Bros may have their eye on somebody known for being up to no good to play the part, former Game of Thrones actor Charles Dance.
While we know next to nothing about Steppenwolf as a character in the DCEU (his scene in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was one of those cut from the theatrical release) we do know that he'll be the alien threat coming to earth that Lex Luthor warned about. While we were told that Warner Bros. was close to signing somebody for the role a couple of weeks ago, we didn't know who it was. Luckily a Twitter account calling itself Wayne Enterprises has claimed that WB is looking at the former patriarch of the Lannister clan to play the main villain of Justice League.
To be clear, this Twitter account is nothing official from Warner Bros or DC, and there's no indication of where they received their information, so this is no more than a rumor at this point. The same twitter also mentions the rumor that Colin Farrell was also being considered for a role, but as this tweet was posted several hours after the original one including Farrell, there's no way to know if their information was independent or if they were just repeating other rumors they'd heard.
Having said all that, what a great choice it would be if it happens to be true. As Tywin Lannister on Game of Thrones, Charles Dance was one of the most memorable characters on a series full of great ones. We know that he's capable of playing the bad guy; Tywinn was one of the few characters for whom audience sympathies never seemed to shift, he was pretty much always a terrible person. As Steppenwolf, Dance would certainly be augmented with digital effects, but that powerful voice of his would certainly give the character some serious authority.
If the transparency that led to the recent set visit continues throughout the filming of Justice League, we won't be surprised if we get a confirmation who will be playing Steppenwolf, just as soon as Warner Bros. themselves figure it out. While we don't expect them to let us in on every single detail of the production, the first villain that the Justice League faces could set the tone for the DCEU going forward. And as it's clear that WB is trying to rebuild fan confidence, getting the right actor in that role could go a long way for fans.
