Justice League: Unused Concept Art Gives Steppenwolf a Human-Like Face
Two weeks have passed since Zack Snyder's Justice League premiered on HBO Max, marking the arrival of one of the most expansive superhero movies in history. Director Zack Snyder used every second of the four-hour-two-minute runtime to expand on his original story meant to come in 2017's Justice League, bringing more cohesion and action to the film.
In the time after the director's cut debuted, behind-the-scenes personnel have been openly sharing the work that they put in, detailing the journey to what ended up on the screen. This is coming with the release of various concept art pieces which highlight how different character designs evolved over the production process.
A new example of this has arrived, giving a slightly uncomfortable look at the Snyder Cut's most prominent villain.
A HUMAN FACE ON THE ALIEN STEPPENWOLF?
Concept artist Jerad Marantz took to Instagram to reveal an early piece of concept art detailing Steppenwolf's full form from Zack Snyder's Justice League. This take was meant to give the villain a more human face, which can be seen in the nose and the eyes.
Marantz included the following caption with the two images:
"Through the design process on #steppenwolf for #justiceleague I did a lot of exploration on the character. In this pass I was told to go a bit more human in the face."
The full post on Instagram can be seen below:
TALL, DARK, AND CREEPIER THAN EVER
Zack Snyder was adamant that Steppenwolf's design in the Snyder Cut would be more terrifying than in the 2017 theatrical cut, even teasing that it was deemed "too scary" to be used nearly more than three years ago. That being said, this design is particularly creepy by trying to make the alien overlord look a little more Earthly in nature.
While the rest of Steppenwolf's body looks very similar to what came in the final cut, the face is particularly unsettling as it looks far less otherworldly than it did on screen. It's unclear when this design was made during the production process, but it seems obvious that the New God saw some major improvements in his final design.
On top of the looks, Steppenwolf made a much greater impact on the Justice League story during his run in the Snyder Cut, even being deserving of his much more brutal end. While it's unlikely that any new stories will come from either this villain or the Snyderverse, his rebirth was a breath of fresh air for all who watched both takes.
Zack Snyder's Justice League is now available to stream on HBO Max.
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