Why DC Films Released The Steppenwolf Footage After Batman V Superman

On the Monday after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had its debut weekend, Warner Bros. surprised everyone by officially releasing a deleted scene, titled “Communion.” In it, we see a Metropolis SWAT team inside of the Kryptonian scout ship, searching for Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). When they come upon him, Luthor is standing before a demonic figure with three Mother Boxes floating in front of him. Upon being discovered, the demonic figure and the boxes appear to evaporate.

It was later confirmed that the demonic figure is actually Steppenwolf, who is Darkseid’s uncle, a trusted lieutenant, and the main villain in Justice League.

So, did WB deliberately put it out there to sow the seeds for Justice League?

“That scene was our way of … I felt like, ‘Oh, that’d be a cool after-credits sequence,’” director Zack Snyder explained to Comicbook.com and other press during a Justice League set visit, “but then I was like, ‘I don’t know. Can I do that?’ Because Marvel does that. Is that a thing? We were like, ‘Oh, maybe there’s another way to do it, by just having it-.’”

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.

The film is being directed by Zack Snyder, based on a screenplay by Chris Terrio. The cast features Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, J. K. Simmons as Commissioner James Gordon, and Amber Heard as Mera.

Justice League will open in theaters on November 17, 2017.