One hot topic of discussion about the upcoming Justice League movie is what the villain Steppenwolf will actually look like. The brief glimpse we see of him in a cut-scene from Batman v Superman, shows the villain in all silver and dressed in his armor. Does this mean that the villain will appear this way? The design looked alien and foreign, sporting horns and unique armor. A recent interview with Ciaran Hinds confirms that the villain will be entirely CGI and was shot using motion capture.
In fact, the actor goes on to say that although he is playing the films primary antagonist, he never met any of the cast of Justice League. Motion capture is becoming more commonplace in Hollywood, and especially with superhero films. It appears that this will also be the case in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. There is a slight chance that some of the actors performance was captured for the film, but this is mostly related to facial features and expressions. If you are looking to get a grasp on what you might expect from the villain, you should look no further than Wonder Woman, who fought her own armor-clad CGI villain.
According to Hinds, e couldn’t even reveal what the armor looks like if he wanted to, because a mockup doesn’t even exist. In an interview on BBC’s The Michael Ball Show via Reddit, Hinds talks about the “old, tired” Steppenwolf that we can look forward to seeing in the film:
“I’m sorry I’m not in costume. 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.”
It is strange that the villain of a major film never met any of the cast while shooting Justice League, but this appears to be the new way of digital filmmaking. It is still unknown how much of the film Steppenwolf will even appear. Will he have a prominent place in the movie, or just show up in the end of the film. Unfortunately for Hinds, he will have to wait for the film’s premier to actual meet his co-stars:
“No, I don’t know whether they’re all afraid to come and 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.’”
For now, fans will have to wait to see if Steppenwolf will appear in the second trailer for Justice League. Hopefully, the trailer will hit the internet in two weeks after the JL panel at the San Diego Comic-Con.
