Darkseid Actor Reacts to First Trailer for Zack Snyder's Justice League

06/21/2020 06:55 pm EDT

Ray Porter, who portrays Apokolips ruler Darkseid in Zack Snyder's Justice League, watched the film's first teaser trailer revealing a new look at his character "once or 50 times." Darkseid looms large as Amazon warrior Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) investigates ancient markings, the footage shows, while the voice of the obsessive and maniacal Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) — jailed by Batman (Ben Affleck) in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, where Superman (Henry Cavill) perished in battle against man-made monster Doomsday — delivers an ominous warning: "The bell has already been rung, and they've heard it. Out in the dark, among the stars. Ding dong, the god is dead."

"I looked at the video, and I was giggling. It was pretty cool," Porter said on The Arroyo Show. "I immediately copied the link and sent it off to a bunch of friends, and people are freaking out. 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," Porter added. "Just looking at it externally, it's really amazing. It's only 34 seconds, but it's huge. So very exciting."

Porter filmed for the Snyder-directed Justice League but did not appear in the version released to theaters in November 2017. His role was cut from the film by Joss Whedon, who completed the superhero ensemble when Snyder stepped away following the death of daughter Autumn Snyder.

The looming arrival of Darkseid has been "a long time coming," Porter said. "It's been a very much up-and-down kind of journey. I got really, really excited, I got really proud. There's just the thrill of, '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. 'Look, that's me!' It was very exciting, and so well done. I may have watched it once or 50 times."

Porter, who only recently officially confirmed his role as Darkseid after maintaining the secret for four years, never watched the theatrical version of Justice League that pits the newly assembled team — among them Cyborg (Ray Fisher), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and the Flash (Ezra Miller) — against Apokolips army leader Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), Darkseid's uncle.

Porter's original role will be restored in Zack Snyder's Justice League, described by Snyder as an "entirely new" experience fulfilling his long laid plans for Justice League. The Snyder Cut releases exclusively on the HBO Max streaming service in 2021.

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