How Darkseid Actor Ray Porter Really Feels About The Justice League Snyder Cut
Darkseid is coming, and the denizens of the DC Extended Universe should be terrified. Here in our world, though, the guy who brought him to life onscreen is pretty psyched.
Ray Porter, who portrays the iconic DC villain via motion capture in Zack Snyder's Justice League, has made a few public remarks about the teaser trailer for the flick that had DC fans losing their minds when it hit the web last week. How does Mr. Porter feel about the brief spot, which prominently features his character? It may not surprise you to know that he digs it.
In case you've been hiding in some kind of Batcave for the last several years, here's a bit of background. 2017's Justice League endured an extraordinarily troubled production. Director Snyder was forced to exit in the middle of production due to a family tragedy, with Avengers director Joss Whedon stepping in to complete the film. Unfortunately, by "complete" we mean "totally rework," because — apparently at the direction of studio Warner Bros. — Whedon took an axe to Snyder's work, excising huge chunks of footage, writing 80 new pages of screenplay, and leaving entire characters and subplots on the cutting room floor.
By some accounts (including that of cinematographer Fabian Wagner), only about 10 percent of what Snyder shot was used for the theatrical cut of Justice League — and ever since the movie's massive underperformance at the box office and critical napalming, fans have wondered how Snyder's original vision might have differed from what they got. Well, we'll soon find out: Snyder's cut of the film will be dropping on HBO Max next year, and Porter's Darkseid — axed out of the theatrical cut by Whedon — will finally make his live-action debut.
What has Ray Porter had to say about the Snyder Cut trailer?
That dramatic teaser depicts Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) approaching some sort of ancient carving by torchlight, and she looks darned apprehensive about what she's seeing: an apparent depiction of Darkseid, etched into the stone. The narration of Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) intones, "The bell has already been rung. And they've heard it... out there, among the stars. Ding, dong... the god is dead." Smash cut to a fiery hellscape, a wasteland presided over by the villain himself.
Porter's reaction, like fans', bordered on ecstatic. "It's really good. It's really cool. I mean Gal Gadot, she looks terrified," the actor said. "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... It's huge. So very exciting."
The actor went on to allude to his excitement over his portrayal of Darkseid finally getting to see the light of day, a development which was never in any way guaranteed. "It's been a long time coming. it's been a very much an up and down kind of journey," he said. "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" (via CinemaBlend).
We certainly don't blame him. It's not often an actor lands an iconic role, only to have it cut from the finished film, then restored again after a years-long fan campaign actually produces results. In fact, we can't think of one other time that has ever happened. Zack Snyder's Justice League will debut on HBO Max sometime in 2021; as soon as there's an announcement as to the official release date, we'll be here with the news.