Darkseid's role in Zack Snyder's Justice League would have been a major contrast to that of Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Justice League was altered drastically from what Snyder had envisioned as a result of the movie's well-publicized reshoots, with the differences between the two versions growing progressively starker as more and more information about the "Snyder Cut" of the movie has emerged.

Among the characters who were removed from the theatrical version of Justice League altogether (and there are quite a lot of them), perhaps none offer as vivid a picture of how different it was from Snyder's version than Darkseid. The ultimate villain in the DC Universe, Darkseid's appearance in Justice League seemed like a foregone conclusion after Lex Luthor intoned "He's hungry, he's found us, and he's coming!" at the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, when the theatrical cut of Justice League made its debut, Darkseid was nowhere to be found.

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It turns out, not only was Darkseid's role Justice League shot (portrayed by Ray Porter), but his role was also meant to be on the opposite end of the spectrum from Thanos in the MCU. Although the similarity of the two characters within their respective universes has led to an assumption that their on-screen roles would reflect each other, the information that's come out in the past two years makes clear that was Darkseid was very much meant to be the yin to Thanos' yang. Here's what we know about how Darkseid's role in Zack Snyder's DCEU was different from that of Thanos in the MCU.

Darkseid Was Going to Appear a Lot Sooner Than Thanos

DC Villain Darkseid

One of the major points of contrast between Darkseid's role in comparison to Thanos is that he was set to arrive much sooner in his respective franchise. Thanos made his first appearance in the MCU at the very end of The Avengers, but his end-credits cameo was just a tease. Thanos would later have a supporting role in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, followed by another end-credits tease in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. It wouldn't be until 2018's Avengers: Infinity War,  the MCU's 18th installment, that Thanos's motivations beyond seeking out infinity stones would even become clear as he took on a front-and-center villain role, using the Infinity Guantlet to snap half the universe away, with 2019's Avengers: Endgame focused on the efforts of Earth Mightiest Heroes to undo the "snap" and defeat Thanos once and for all.

Darkseid, on the other hand, was meant to make his presence known and felt much earlier on in the DCEU. Although Steppenwolf still served as the primary villain in Zack Snyder's version of Justice League, Darkseid was still intended to make a major impression with his big-screen debut, including seeing Darkseid go head-to-head with Ares the God of War himself during the history lesson. From there, Darkseid was to maintain a looming presence akin to Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, culminating with the League seeing Darkseid through a Boom Tube at the end of the movie. Ultimately, Darkseid was swapped out for Steppenwolf in the history lesson, while his presence in the theatrical version of the film was completely eliminated, save for a single name drop from Steppenwolf, "For the Unity! For Darkseid!"

Darkseid Would Have Had More Set-Up Than Thanos

Aside from the basic nature of their two roles being different, Darkseid would also have received more of a set-up than Thanos did. Following his appearance in The Avengers end-credits scene, the build-up towards his battle with Earth Mightiest Heroes was relatively sporadic. Of Thanos' two subsequent MCU appearances prior to Infinity War, his role in Guardians of the Galaxy was the only one to shed any light on his personality or motivations (both of which were mostly retconned anyway), and he was still very much a secondary character to Ronan's villainous role in the film. His end-credits cameo in Age of Ultron was also only slightly more involved than his very first appearance with his proclamation of "Fine, I'll do it myself" while putting on the Infinity Gauntlet (another retconned moment), and it really wasn't until Infinity War that Thanos had risen to become a major, proactive antagonist within the MCU (while concept art for Endgame also reveals additional elements of his character arc that ultimately didn't make it into the finished film.)

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By contrast, teases towards the impending threat posed by Darkseid were planted throughout Batman v Superman. The Knightmare sequence established unambiguously that the DCEU was heading right for a battle with Darkseid and Apokolips with the presence of Parademons and the Omega Symbol burned into the desert floor, along with Lex's aforementioned warning of the coming invasion at the end of the movie. Under Snyder's direction, Justice League was intended to pay both of these off, with the "Heroes" trailer seeing Bruce referencing the Knightmare while expressing his fear that "something darker" is on the way.

In the Snyder Cut of Justice League, a younger, pre-god-powered Darkseid, Uxas, would have invaded Earth with the Mother Boxes, only to be fought off by an alliance of Amazons, Atlanteans, tribes of men, a Green Lantern, and Greek gods. Sometime after this retreat, he would have presumably acquired the Omega Force, taking the name Darkseid and becoming a New God.

Following Steppenwolf's defeat at the end of Justice League (which was much more brutal in Snyder's version), the movie would also have set up Darkseid for a more central villain role in Justice League 2 more equivalent in scope to that of Thanos in Infinity War. Looking over the teases made in Batman v Superman and what is currently known about Snyder's version of Justice League, it is clear that not only was Darkseid being established as the number one threat facing Earth early on, but that each film he was to appear in would build upon the presence he had in the previous one.

Darkseid's Motivations Were Different

Justice League Zack Snyder Cut Real Darkseid

The goals of Thanos were significantly different than those of Darkseid. When we meet Thanos in Infinity War, we learn that his ultimate aim is to collect all the Infinity Stones in order to stave off overpopulation and resource depletion across the universe. Having witnessed effects of a population growing out of control on Titan, Thanos uses the Infinity Stones to snap half of all life in the universe into dust, though after he is killed by Thor in the beginning of Endgame, Thanos' younger self adjusts his plan to destroying the universe and rebuilding it anew after realizing that the Avengers will never abandon their efforts to stop him. Ultimately, Thanos himself is snapped away by Tony Stark in the movie's climactic battle, though there are hints of his death not being as final as we thought.

RELATED: Justice League Was Made Worse Without Darkseid

While less has been confirmed outright about Darkseid's motivations, there are clues to indicate when his overarching goal was. Snyder has revealed that his plans for the DCEU were to involve the Anti-Life Equation, which can be utilized to subvert free will. The Knightmare itself depicts Superman as having sided with the forces of Apokolips, while Steppenwolf alludes to Superman's death in the San Diego Comic-Con trailer with his line (spoken to Desaad) "No protectors here. No Lanterns. No Kryptonian. This world will fall like all the others."  Together, these point to Darkseid seeking bring Superman over to his side, or simply just getting him out of his way, while trying to retrieve the three Mother Boxes. Additionally, with the heroic death for Batman that Snyder had on the cards, it also points to Darkseid's end goal as functioning to lay the groundwork for an adaptation of something akin to Grant Morrison's Final Crisis comics in Justice League 2.

By now, the push for the Snyder Cut has a gust of wind in its back that is swiftly becoming a hurricane. It seems everyone finally accepts the Snyder Cut exists, with even Subway joking about adding "Snyder Cut Special" to their menu, and Jason Momoa confirming to have seen it himself, the topic has reached a level of public awareness that there is simply no coming back from. Though Warner Bros. has not announced any plans for the Snyder Cut's release, Darkseid's role in the film, along with just how different his portrayal was from Thanos, is one of many elements keeping the fire burning for the rapidly growing demand for Zack Snyder's version of Justice League to see the light of day.

NEXT: Who Would Win In A Fight: Thanos Or Darkseid? The Answer Is Obvious

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