SnyderVerse Writer Unveils Original Plan To Introduce Darkseid’s Son To The DCEU

Jason Fuchs, a writer for the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), revealed that plans once existed to introduce Darkseid’s son in a movie. The DCEU, which started with Man of Steel and ended with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in 2023, featured Darkseid as a major villain across its 15 films – many of which were influenced by Zack Snyder. Interestingly, an early version of the Wonder Woman movie might have included another of Darkseid’s family members.

Just like the Marvel movies, the DC Universe started by introducing its main heroes in individual films, including the 2017 Wonder Woman movie starring Gal Gadot. Jan Fuchs, a writer who recently worked on IT: Welcome to Derry, co-wrote Wonder Woman with Zack Snyder and Allan Heinberg. He recently shared that the film originally planned to introduce Kalibak, the son of the villain Darkseid, though the main antagonist ultimately became Ares, played by David Thewlis.

James Gunn (Fuchs) shared with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that an early version of the Wonder Woman script featured a scene after the credits with the character Kalibak, a relatively obscure DC Comics villain that the writer was particularly fond of. However, this idea was ultimately scrapped, and the final film didn’t include any post-credits content.

Jason Fuchs mentioned an early draft of the script featured a scene after the credits with Kalibak, a relatively obscure but well-regarded character from DC Comics that he’s a fan of.

In DC Comics, Kalibak is the son of the villain Darkseid and another native of the brutal planet Apokolips. Being from Apokolips, he has extraordinary powers like immortality, incredible strength, and increased speed. He’s often depicted fighting with either an Apokoliptian Scythe or a weapon called the Beta Club.

Kalibak is usually fiercely loyal to his father and fights against Earth’s heroes, like the Justice League. During the Darkseid War, he fought alongside his father on Earth. But after Darkseid was killed by the Anti-Monitor, Kalibak took charge of the remaining Apokoliptians and led an attack on humanity, determined to avenge his father’s death.

Kalibak doesn’t appear often in DC Comics, but early plans for the DC Extended Universe suggested he could have played a bigger role if they hadn’t been changed.

What Would Kalibak Have Added to The DCEU?

Although Kalibak never actually appeared in the DC movies, including him could have been a good fit considering his father, Darkseid, was a major villain planned for the series.

Steppenwolf was the main villain in the original Justice League movie, which saw changes to its story after the director, Zack Snyder, was replaced by Joss Whedon. However, in Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League, Darkseid plays a much larger role. This might explain why the idea of introducing Kalibak, Darkseid’s son, was considered for Wonder Woman – it seems Snyder originally intended to build towards Darkseid’s appearance in Justice League by first introducing his son.

Making Darkseid the central villain of the SnyderVerse, similar to how Thanos drove the story in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga, would have allowed for more appearances from characters like Kalibak. It also would have enabled a deeper exploration of Darkseid’s background, including his family and the world he comes from, Apokolips.

In the end, Kalibak never moved beyond being just a concept. However, there’s still potential for him to appear in the upcoming DC Universe.

2025-12-17 00:35

What Would Kalibak Have Added to The DCEU?

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