I, along with many fans, let out a collective sigh when Doomsday hit the screen in the second trailer for BATMAN v SUPERMAN. While all hints seemed to be pointing to that character, it just seemed far too soon. After all, this is a villain his is renowned for killing Superman in the comics, and to throw a villain that powerful into the mix this early on the DC Extended Universe seemed to be too much too fast–almost like throwing Thanos into the first AVENGERS movie (okay, maybe not that far, but you get the idea).

So why is director Zack Snyder so eager to get this deep into the DC mythology? In the most recent issue of Empire Magazine, he explains his use of the character in the film.

“To go up against heroes like Batman and Superman, we wanted to introduce one of the DC Universe’s most iconic and powerful villains. He is essentially an unstoppable force. He poses a real threat to the world within the film.”

While I may personally be too stuck on this “too much too soon” train, when you stop to think about it, it does make a lot of sense. There has to be a villain that can stand up, not only to Superman, but also to Batman and Wonder Woman. Sure, you can have a villain that can think his way into defeating these three titans, but that would require a full movie’s worth of work and motivation. Doomsday, on the other hand, doesn’t really need the motivation, as he’s more of a force of nature than anything else. And in essence, he’s just the muscle of the true villain, who we all believe to be Lex Luthor, who will get an entire film to have his motivations colored. 

Snyder’s further comments on the subject seem to re-enforce this idea that Lex’s biological tampering is what leads to this confrontation with Doomsday.

“You learn pretty early on that Lex is interested in metahuman existence, and that there might be some relationship between that investigation and the appearance of Diana Prince.”

What do you think of Snyder’s comments. Was it necessary to throw a character like Doomsday into the mix, or is this all too much too fast? Let us know your thoughts down below!

BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE hits theaters on March 23, 2016.

SOURCE: Empire (via Comic Book Movie)