Which Two Batman Villains Nearly Appeared in BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE?

The two villains of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice are both classic Superman enemies: Lex Luthor and Doomsday. The former is the official big bad of the movie, while the latter was the brute force that Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman have to defeat.

However, it turns out that a couple of the Dark Knight’s foes came close to appearing in this film as well.

In an interview with Collider at the Batman v Superman press junket, director Zack Snyder revealed that two of Batman’s most iconic villains were almost added to Dawn of Justice. Who are they? Find out below.

[Minor Spoilers for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ahead.]

So, according to Snyder, both The Joker and The Riddler came very close to appearing in Batman v Superman. But while their “mythological presence” is felt in the final film, the two were cut from the script to keep the focus on the conflict between Batman and Superman. “The Joker and The Riddler both came close to being in this movie. We talked about the possibility of putting them in. [Screenwriter] Chris Terrio and I talked about it a lot and felt that their mythological presence is felt in the movie and that’s cool, but I didn’t want to get my eye too far off the ball because I needed to spend the time, frankly, with Batman and Superman to understand the conflict.”

We know that Joker, played by Jared Leto, is about to make his DC Extended Universe debut with this year’s Suicide Squad. But it’s interesting to hear that he could have popped up in Batman v Superman first. Could there have been a flashback sequence with Joker and Robin?

As for Riddler, remember the first teaser trailer for Batman v Superman, released last April? In this screenshot, there appears to be an Easter egg that references Edward Nigma. Maybe this is the “mythological presence” felt by the character? (Image courtesy of Business Insider.)

So, this is a very interesting “What if?” scenario. Seeing the DCEU’s Joker and Riddler sooner than expected would have been cool. But, it’s good to hear that Snyder and Terrio sought to keep the film’s focus on the Batman-Superman conflict, without cramming in too many Easter eggs for comic book fans.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is scheduled to hit theaters March 25th. The second installment in the DC Extended Universe stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter and Gal Gadot. Zack Snyder directs from a script by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer.