According to Point of Geeks, there is a gaping hole in the announced production of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Who exactly, is the antagonist strong enough to enlist a roster as formidable as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman? Despite rumors of this film's Lex Luthor being depicted as a tough guy from the streets, surely Jesse Eisenberg will not be able to stand up to them on his own. He will need a force of nature that he can somehow harness, to both provide physicality and to fuel his ego.
The latest rumor coming from Bleeding Cool is that it will be none other than the Superman-killer Doomsday. Doomsday is a prehistoric monster born within the planet Krypton, who ultimately finds his way to Earth. Here he confronts and defeats the Justice League, only to be stopped by Superman at the cost of both of their lives.
One of the things that has been consistent during the ramp up to the sequel to the Man of Steel is Henry Cavill leaking information in plain site. In the past he has mentioned that he would like to see Batman and Superman teamup, he said he always liked Cyborg and he has mentioned Doomsday as well.
To be clear, Doomsday's involvement has not been confirmed as fact. The person who got the scoop has only seen the designs for the film. Bleeding Cool cautions:
Now, of course, much can change in the production process. This may be used purely for flashback purposes on the screen, looking at the life (and death) of Superman. It may be purely for promotional efforts to accompany the film. Or it may not make it to the final cut.
But as of now, it looks like Doomsday, the killer of Superman, be in the next film… will Superman make it out alive?
So Doomsday's involvement could potentially be minimal or it is possible that it is a design for a future film. Remember that Warner Bros. has their DC cinematic universe mapped out through 2018, when we will get the formal Man of Steel sequel. But the possibility leaves much to chew on. So let's throw on our geek-hat and speculate what this could potentially mean to the film series.
(Potential Spoilers)
This scoop is coming on the heels of set reports that suggest that the film could be taking a cue from a famous storyline featuring Doomsday, in which he "kills" Superman. If Superman is taken out by Doomsday, it's hard for comic book heroes to really die, it would make a lot of sense thematically. If let's say at the end of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Superman goes into a deep coma. There will still be two DC films, Shazam and Sandman, before the Justice League movie is released. It would make even more sense that a character such as Shazam would emerge in the glaring void left by a missing Kal-El.
This also would be a logical reason for the emergence of a Justice League in the first place. Perhaps these heroes that were battling each other realize they must band together. The absence could set up a Search for Spock-like quest for the League. Strategically working as a task-force unit to bring back the Man of Steel. This would also foreshadow the upcoming announced team-ups like The Flash & Green Lantern, giving them a chance to establish their chemistry.
The common understanding is that in Dawn of Justice, Superman will be receiving criticism from no less than Lex Luthor, Aquaman and Batman. His death would make him become a martyr, which would force all members of the League to self-reflect and should be foundation for clear character arcs in a movie jam-packed with meta-humans. This would simultaneously allow for Superman to have a return fit for a king. Where he would unquestionably take his crown and lead the League against their given omni-potent threat, such as Darkseid.
The pieces seem to fit together. The question is, how long is Warner Bros. going to let us all squirm? One thing is for sure, they have a film series planned that may be more epic and on a grander scale then we are imagining and have seen as of yet. It will be fun to see the curtain slowly get raised soon.
Sources: Point of Geeks