Recently, DCEU fans were treated to their first glimpse of Justice League’s villain Steppenwolf via images of a LEGO set and an action figure from the upcoming movie’s toy line. Despite this, and despite the fact that the movie is a little over four months away, we still know very little about what the character’s role in the DC Films’ team-up movie will be. Luckily for us, however, the actor cast in the role, Ciarán Hinds, recently talked briefly about the part in an interview on BBC Radio’s The Michael Ball Show.
In the interview, Hinds not only reiterated what fans already knew – that Steppenwolf would be an entirely CGI rendered character – but also revealed that he himself never actually met the rest of the Justice League cast, for his scenes were shot with motion-capture separate from them, and would be added into the film during post-production.
“I don’t know whether they’re all afraid to meet me – no, no, they weren’t, really. Because it’s imaginary, you do it with green screen[…]That was another challenge, you could say, yeah. But it was quite fun. And they’re very encouraging in what you do, suggesting ‘Over here, look over there, imagine that, do this here, they’re coming at you now.'”
On the motion-capture performance itself, Hinds had the following to say, hinting at the the villain’s plans for Earth:
“I didn’t even have a costume when I was doing it. It’s all done in motion-capture. So, they stick a helmet on your head, they put two cameras around, and they capture all your expressions, facial expressions. So basically, they’re going to concoct some kind of construction and they will use my facial expressions – eyes, mouth, voice – they’ll turn into this murderous, avenging Steppenwolf from the planet Apokolips, apparently, who’s bent on Hell on Earth.”
Given how advanced motion-capture performance technology has become in recent years, and how realistic the finished products look, the fully realized Steppenwolf should truly be a sight to behold when Justice League hits theaters on November 17th. With Comic Con less than two weeks ago, and Warner Bros. confirmed to be bringing Justice League to Hall H, we may not have to wait too much longer before we get our first glimpse of Steppenwolf in action via a new trailer.
Are you excited to see Ciarán Hinds’ portrayal of Steppenwolf in Justice League? Are you hoping we get a glimpse of the character in a new trailer, or do you think Warner Bros. should keep him hidden until the movie is released in November? Leave a comment below and let me know!
In ‘Justice League’, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Justice League is directed by Zack Snyder, from a screenplay by Chris Terrio, and features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Ciarán Hinds, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Jeremy Irons and Jesse Eisenberg. It hits theaters November 17th.
