Warning: Batman v Superman spoilers follow.
Looks like it's time for Batman v Superman: Dawn of the Deleted Scenes.
[seealso slug="superman-batman-darkseid"]
On Monday, Warner Bros.'s official YouTube page released what is likely to be the first of many scenes that were cut from Batman v Superman's theatrical release. The 44-second video shows us what happened after Lex Luthor let loose his Doomsday monster, but before he ended up in prison with a freshly-shaved head.
The scene, titled "Communion," shows an armed SWAT team entering Zod's fallen Kryptonain ship, where the monster who just killed Superman was born. There they find Luthor, right where we left him. As the music swells, we see a Kryptonian hologram of a very different monster surrounded by floating squares, which disappears when the visibly shaken Luthor notices he's no longer alone.
While Luthor's dialogue in BvS is heavy with mention of gods and devils, this devilish vision comes right before we see him in his cell screaming to Batman that "they" are coming. Other references in the movie clearly indicate that the comic villain Darkseid and his minions are the "they" in question, the foes who will face the nascent Justice League. Those floating squares in "Communion" are reminiscent of Mother Boxes, one of which we saw in in the movie's archived footage of Cyborg.
The only problem: This creature looks nothing like any other depictions of Darkseid.
Perhaps, though, this deleted scene is meant to show the moment that the very Earth-bound Luthor learned, though the ship's Kryptonian archives, about the impending invasion.