Darkseid Actor Shares His Reaction To The First Snyder Cut Teaser

Darkseid in Justice League

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The DC Extended Universe has had a fascinating life in theaters, full of twists both behind and in front of the camera. The latest unprecedented turn of events came when HBO Max revealed its plans to complete and release Justice League's Snyder Cut on the streaming service. Zack Snyder's original vision will finally come to a reality, including the myriad characters that were left on the cutting room floor for the theatrical cut. Chief among them is the villainous Darkseid, played by actor Ray Porter. The movie's first teaser recently broke the internet, and now Porter has broken his silence on the new Darkseid-central scene.

Prior to a full trailer, Zack Snyder and company released a brief scene from the Snyder Cut, which teases the arrival of Darkseid. It was an epic sequence that teased how far Snyder's vision for the movie actually extended. Ray Porter did the motion capture and voice work for the upcoming villain, and recently spoke to the first teaser, saying:

It’s really good. It’s really cool. I mean Gal Gadot, she looks terrified. It’s so cool.... It’s amazing to me that in 34 seconds Zack Snyder can pack more suspense and foreboding than a lot of people can in an entire film. Just looking at it externally and not like, ‘Oh look, that’s me.’ Looking at it, it’s really amazing. It’s only 34 seconds, but it’s huge. So, very exciting.

He's not wrong. The first scene from Zack Snyder's Justice League was brief, but the suspense and dread was palpable for audiences. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman was learning the truth about the upcoming alien invasion, including the arrival of Darkseid himself. And even Diana Prince is terrified.

Ray Porter's comments to The Arroyo Show shows how the actor is just as excited as fans for the upcoming release of Justice League's infamous Snyder Cut. While he's not the only actor whose role was cut for the theatrical release, he'll truly be transformed into Darkseid through visual effects and motion capture technology. But aside from his role, it seems Porter is just impressed with Zack Snyder as a filmmaker, and his ability to craft a visceral experience in such a short amount of time.

The Snyder Cut will arrive exclusively on HBO Max in 2021. You can sign up for the new streaming service here.

That tension is something that builds to a steadily crescendo during this brief teaser. Jesse Eisenberg's narration paired with Gal Gadot's performance and the eventual appearance of Darkseid shows truly how dangerous the iconic DC villain is. As a reminder, you can check out the sequence below.

You can't deny Ray Porter's comments. That sequence should be enough to sway any naysayers out there, who aren't pleased about Justice League getting another release over on HBO Max. The streaming service is putting millions into the Snyder Cut's completion, including animating Darkseid and his forces of Parademons.

Later in his same conversation, Ray Porter went on to express his excitement for Zack Snyder's Justice League finally being released to the masses, including the sequences he worked on as Darkseid. After all, it's been years since the movie first hit theaters in 2017. As Porter explained,

It’s been a long time coming. it’s been a very much an up and down kind of journey. I don’t know, I mean I got really excited. I got really proud. There’s just the thrill of like, ‘Whoa look, that’s me.’ I’ve been in the business for a long enough time that I probably should be less enthusiastic about stuff like that but I’m always a dork that way. It was very exciting and so well done. I may have watched it once or 50 times.

Same, though. The sneak peek into the new Justice League didn't disappoint, and highlighted just how much the movie had been altered ahead of its theatrical release. Zack Snyder was doing a ton of world building with the movie, as the filmmaker had a five-film arc planned. But after Justice League's disappointing performance in theaters, those plans were scrapped.

The next installment in the DCEU is Wonder Woman 1984 on October 2nd, while the Snyder Cut will hit HBO Max sometime in 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.