Justice League’s post-credits scene teased that the supervillains of the DCEU will form a league of their own. If Justice League 2 does come together, the direction of the sequel looks to have Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman battling their arch-nemeses rather than aliens, as the DCEU’s villains unite to become the Legion of Doom.

The Big Bads of DC Comics have joined forces for almost as long as the World’s Greatest Heroes have been a team. The group has gone by different names - the Injustice Gang of the World, the Secret Society of Super-Villains (or just The Society), and the Injustice League - but general audiences know “Legion of Doom” best, thanks to the classic Super Friends cartoon.

Whatever the Legion of Doom is officially called if they are assembled in the DCEU, many of the heroes’ primary antagonists have already been cast. After all, you can’t have a superhero movie without an evil supervillain to fight. It would be easy, then, for DC Films and Warner Bros. to bring together the actors who are already suited up in the DCEU solo films to fill the seats of the Hall of Doom.

  • This Page: Legion of Doom Members Already Cast

Legion of Doom Members Already Cast

Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is the traditional leader of the Legion of Doom in the comics and cartoons. Luthor is one of the richest, most brilliant, and most evil men in the DCEU. Introduced in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Luthor was captured by Batman and exposed for his criminal schemes, but he escaped Arkham Asylum in Justice League and announced his plans for his own league of evildoers. How Luthor’s new scheme affects his established knowledge of the forces of Apokolips invading Earth remains to be seen, but since the League seems to have ended the alien threat, Lex could be content with that result and ready to move on with his own machinations.

Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) made his debut in Justice League’s post-credits scene, meeting with Luthor aboard his yacht. The one-eyed, superpowered mercenary, whose real name is Slade Wilson, is the first recruit to Luthor’s team. His likely opposite number would be Batman.

However, The Joker (Jared Leto) is Batman’s true arch-enemy, though fans have only briefly glimpsed the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime tangle in Suicide Squad - and it was in a flashback car chase, not in any type of face-to-face confrontation. We do know Joker is responsible for the death of Robin, who may be the Dick Grayson version of the Boy Wonder. Whether the Legion would want a psychopath as unstable as the Joker among their ranks remains to be seen.

Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is set to debut in Aquaman opposite Jason Momoa’s sea king. Manta relies on his armor and undersea weaponry to fight the half-Atlantean Aquaman.

Cheetah (Kristin Wiig) will be Diana Prince’s next foe in Wonder Woman 2. As the Cheetah, archaeologist Dr. Barbara Minerva is mystically powered to have cat-like speed, strength, agility, and razor-sharp claws.

Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) is a nefarious mad scientist who will serve as the villain in Shazam. Shazam is most likely the next superhero to join the Justice League, so Sivana could join the Legion in order to have another try at defeating him. However, in order to acquire the sheer strength needed to go one-on-one with the Big Red Cheese, the Legion of Doom may also recruit Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson). The anti-hero also possesses the powers of the wizard Shazam, and will headline his own film expected to start shooting in 2019.

Additions To The Legion of Doom

The roster of the Legion of Doom is traditionally huge. This reflects how often the villains get captured by the superheroes; other baddies will rotate into open spots on the team. If the DCEU’s Legion of Doom wants to expand beyond the primary arch enemies of each Justice Leaguer, there are plenty of other villains who have been a part of the society of evil in the comics.

In DC’s movies, A-list superstar actors are often cast to portray supervillains, which is a tradition that began with Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor in Superman: The Movie and Jack Nicholson as the Joker in Batman (1989). However, it wouldn’t be financially feasible for a huge name to portray each member of the Legion of Doom. There are a number of up-and-coming character actors who aren’t necessarily household names who would be amazing as supervillains, so we aimed to assemble a cast that would be realistic but still wow audiences.

Michael Stuhlbarg As Doctor Light

Doctor Arthur Light is a criminal physicist with the power to control light and use it to project energy blasts, force fields, and become invisible. Doctor Light’s portrayal in the comics has alternated between middle-of-the-road baddie, to incompetent comic relief, to a controversial portrayal (to say the least) in Brad Meltzer’s Identity Crisis.

Regardless of how the DCEU might portray Doctor Light, Michael Stuhlbarg would be fascinating as the photon-bending bad guy. An actor of tremendous range, Stuhlbarg delivered a gripping lead performance in the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man, and in 2017, he was the caring professor and father of Timothée Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name and the good-hearted Russian spy posing as a scientist in The Shape of Water.

Dan Stevens As Felix Faust

The ancient sorcerer Felix Faust was one of the Justice League’s original enemies in the comics when he tried to raise the Demons Three, Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast. Faust is a bit of a tragic figure who bargains away his soul to demons of the netherworld for bids of power, but he could provide the kind of mystical menace that the heroes of the League have yet to face in a movie.

Dan Stevens is a riveting performer who can strike the right note of being desperately unbalanced as Faust. The British actor rose to fame in Downton Abbey and portrayed the Beast in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast. Stevens is also currently starring as the mutant psychic David Haller in FX’s critically-acclaimed Legion. Though Legion is a Marvel series, Stevens wouldn’t be the first actor to cross over to DC (or vice versa).

Rami Malik As Sinestro

Fans are still waiting for the long-rumored Green Lantern Corps movie to materialize, but the villain of that piece would undoubtedly be Sinestro. Once the greatest of the Green Lanterns, Sinestro fell from grace and attempts to impose his brand of order to the universe, eventually forging his own yellow Power Ring and later, the Sinestro Corps.

Whoever is ultimately cast as Green Lantern Hal Jordan would affect the actor cast as Sinestro, but we suggest Rami Malik would provide the right type of intensity and menace. Malik has won rave reviews on his USA hit series Mr. Robot and will be portraying the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. Malik would be a fearsome Sinestro, and we bet he could rock a pencil mustache.

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson As Solomon Grundy

“Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday…” is how the famous rhyme begins, which heralds one of DC Comics’ most fearsome monsters. An immortal, undead powerhouse who was brought to life in Slaughter Swamp in the 19th century, Grundy was a fan favorite Legion of Doom member in the Super Friends cartoon. Grundy has fought Batman and numerous other superheroes in the comics, and he has been recruited for his muscle and relentless ferocity by many villains.

No CGI would be necessary to portray Solomon Grundy if Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson is cast as the monster. The enormous Icelandic actor plays “The Mountain” Gregor Clegane on Game of Thrones; in fact, Clegane is now also a reanimated corpse on the show. Björnsson as Grundy would tower over every Justice League member and would easily look believable matching muscle with Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Superman.

Timothy Olyphant As Metallo

“The Man With The Kryptonite Heart”, Metallo (real name John Corben) is a cyborg and arch enemy of Superman who is powered by the Man of Steel’s greatest weakness. Kryptonite has been established as part of the DCEU in Batman V Superman, and was a cornerstone of Luthor’s plot against Superman. It stands to reason Luthor would construct the cyborg as both a henchman and an insurance policy against his Kryptonian nemesis.

Timothy Olyphant has wowed audiences with his performances in Deadwood, Justified, and as the villain opposite Bruce Willis in Live Free or Die Hard. He has also proven his comedic chops during his stint on The Office and his lead role in Santa Clarita Diet. Olyphant can deftly alternate between being charming, menacing, and unbalanced, which would bring some necessary humanity to the often one-dimensional Metallo.

Matt Smith As The Thinker

The Thinker is currently the main villain in season 4 of The Flash, but since the DCEU has its own Scarlet Speedster played by Ezra Miller, why shouldn’t the movies have their own Thinker as well? As a genius-level intellect and mechanokinetic with an artificial intelligence capable of taking over any type of electronic device, as well as assorted other abilities like holographic projection, the Thinker is an ideal match for the Justice League’s Cyborg.

With his ability to quickly deliver oodles of technical jargon, Matt Smith would be phenomenal as The Thinker. World famous for his portrayal of the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who, the British actor has memorably starred in numerous films and television series, most recently portaying Prince Philip in the first two seasons of Netflix’s The Crown. Without a doubt, Smith could believably portray a villain who could outwit the Justice League.

Next: The DCEU Shouldn’t Be Afraid Of Camp

  • Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21 Shazam! Release Date: 2019-04-05 Wonder Woman 2 Release Date: 2020-12-25