With the recent news that Jared Leto’s Joker will not be making a cameo in Zack Snyder’s Justice League movie after all, the potential for appearances from other DC characters suddenly looks a bit brighter. As Justice League is a film that brings together multiple characters with their own extensive lists of character connections, it’s pretty much a given that we’ll be seeing multiple cameos. Although most of these cameos will probably be from minor characters who won’t have much impact on the film’s plot, it’s possible that we could see some big name heroes and villains make brief appearances. While most of the following characters will absolutely NOT end up being in the final film, we would love to see see cameos from any of the following DC heroes and villains in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
12. Captain Boomerang
Of the characters mentioned on this list, Jai Courtney’s Captain Boomerang is arguably one of the likeliest characters to earn a cameo spot in Justice League and it all has to do with the Flash cameo we saw in Suicide Squad. After that film was released, it was confirmed that Zack Snyder had actually shot the brief scene showing Ezra Miller’s Flash foiling Captain Boomerang’s bank heist, and there’s a possibility that Snyder actually shot more footage to be used in his own film. Even though the Flash has shown up briefly in both Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, Justice League will represent our first true introduction to the character and an expanded version of the Captain Boomerang encounter could be a good way to help fill in some of The Flash’s backstory. Plus, Courtney was an entertaining, if underutilized presence in Suicide Squad, so it would be great to see him in action again, if only briefly.
11. Shazam!
Shazam! is the superpowered alter ego of Billy Batson (well, technically he’s known as Captain Marvel, but rights issues with Marvel Comics have led to Shazam! becoming his (un)official title) and is set to make his big screen debut in 2019, with Dwayne Johnson already signed onto play his arch nemesis, Black Adam. As such, introducing Billy in Justice League’s post-credits scene could be a good way to build excitement for the Shazam! movie. The only problem with that is Warner Bros. likely wants Justice League’s post-credits scene to deal more with the fallout of events from the film than introducing a whole new character who may or may not be involved in future Justice League movies. As such, perhaps just a tip of the cap is enough in this case, or better yet, have Superman encounter a boy named Billy Batson at some point in the film (yeah, that would be a bit cheesy, but given Shazam’s resemblance to Superman, it would certainly be an on-point character interaction).
10 and 9. Hawkman/Hawkgirl
It goes without saying that Justice League will introduce the first incarnation of the titular superhero team. Much like with what Marvel’s been doing with the Avengers, it’s only a matter of time before we start seeing new characters added to the team in future installments. As for which characters will be recruited to the Justice League in the future, ancient Egyptian lovers Hawkman and Hawkgirl certainly sit near the top of the list. We’ve already seen that the pair can work in live action thanks to their recent inclusion in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow TV show, and while the chances of one or either of them actually having a cameo in Justice League are virtually nil, their existence could at least be teased in a clever Easter egg, signalling to audiences that the pair will make their DC Extended Universe (DCEU) debut at some point in the future.
8. Green Arrow
The great thing about cameos is that there is a lot of flexibility in how they can be done. For instance, Justice League could do a Green Arrow cameo, but make it more of an Easter egg than a walk-on part. Thanks to Stephen Amell’s lead role in the popular TV series Arrow, Oliver Queen is practically a household name at this point, especially among comic fans. With DC’s movie and TV universes being separate entities, Amell won’t be getting the part if and when Green Arrow is introduced on the cinematic side (which if a true shame, but what can you do?) and it’s also still a bit early in the DC Extended Universe’s lifespan to start bombarding audiences with new characters left and right. However, that doesn’t mean that Justice League can’t throw out a reference to the archer in Star City. “Oliver Queen” could be a name brought up by Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince as a possible future JLA recruit or if the film wants to go the more subtle route, his name could just appear on a monitor as part of a list of known heroes in operation.
7. Deadshot
Much like with Captain Boomerang, a Deadshot cameo would be relatively easy to pull off and would also make sense given what we saw of him in Suicide Squad. In that film, there was a flashback that showed Deadshot being apprehended by Batman, giving the former a personal vendetta against the Caped Crusader. While it would make more sense to leave this conflict off the table until the solo Batman movie comes out, there is certainly an opportunity for Justice League to incorporate Deadshot, albeit in a brief appearance. Will Smith’s Deadshot established himself as the defacto leader (outside of Rick Flagg, of course) of the Suicide Squad and with Bruce Wayne essentially demanding that Amanda Waller shut the whole thing down, there is opportunity to develop some animosity between the two leaders of these very different squads even further.
6. Lex Luthor Sr.
We’re putting this entry on this list if only for the faint hope of seeing a Lex Luthor in the DC Extended Universe who isn’t played by Jesse Eisenberg. As established in Batman v Superman, Eisenberg’s Lex is actually the son of the Lex Luthor audiences and comic book fans are more familiar with (and arguably more fond of). Much of Lex’s arc in Batman v Superman had to do with his unresolved daddy issues and considering Eisenberg has already been confirmed to be returning for Justice League, it would be interesting to see this dynamic play out on screen by introducing Lex Luthor Sr. Honestly, it might even make Eisenberg’s character more likable if we can see how completely emasculated and undermined he is by his more hard-edged, badass father, and it would also present a great opportunity to remove Eisenberg’s Luthor from the DCEU completely and establish his father as Superman’s true nemesis heading into Man of Steel 2.
5. Nightwing
One of the most frustrating and at the same time intriguing things about the DCEU is that many of the important details surrounding the state of the universe have yet to be filled in, especially when it comes to Batman’s allies and villains. We already know that the Joker killed a Robin at some point, but that was the second Robin, Jason Todd, which means that Dick Grayson is, for all intents and purposes, still alive and well. Although it has yet to be confirmed whether or not Grayson is even going to be part of the DCEU, it would be a strange move not to include him, considering he’s one of Batman’s closest allies and friends.
While Warner Bros. could be saving Grayson’s debut for Ben Affleck’s solo Batman movie, Justice League arguably presents a better opportunity for introducing him as his vigilante alter ego Nightwing. Similar to how he’s been used so far in the Batman: Arkham game series, Nightwing could swoop in during one of Batman’s scenes to discuss their past / Bruce’s plans for the Justice League. Of course, the tricky part would be making this exchange feel organic, but we’d be willing to deal with a bit of awkwardness in exchange for finally getting to see Nightwing, a character who is too often overlooked, in live action.
4. Harley Quinn
With the recent news that Margot Robbie will be producing and starring in a Harley Quinn spin-off movie, it’s clear that Warner Bros. is absolutely in love with the Australian actress (it also helps that her performance was one of Suicide Squad’s few saving graces). That being said, a Harley Quinn spin-off and even Suicide Squad 2 are still pretty far off, it may make sense to have Robbie reprise her role sooner rather than later with a brief appearance in Justice League. While it’s hard to see Snyder’s film being as flashback heavy as Suicide Squad is, a couple scenes filling in more of Batman’s backstory and his past encounters with members of his rogues gallery would not go amiss. However, with Leto all but confirmed to be out of the picture for Justice League, it’s hard to see Harley showing up on her own, but based on Robbie’s popularity alone, there’s certainly a chance that she could find her way into the film for a short stint.
3. Barbara Gordon
With Commissioner Gordon (as played by J.K. Simmons) already figuring into the plot of Justice League, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch if his daughter were to appear in some capacity. Barbara Gordon has been enjoying a resurgence in popularity over the last few years thanks to some excellent comic runs (the Batgirl of Burnside arc from Stewart/Fletcher/Tarr is a must-read), so it would be wise for Warner Bros. to introduce her to the DC Extended Universe as quickly as possible. While it would be nice to see WB introduce Gordon as her Batgirl alter ego and ignore plot elements from The Killing Joke entirely, Oracle would also be a strong addition to the DCEU, even if her role is already sort of occupied by a surprisingly tech savvy Alfred (Jeremy Irons). At the very least, the Commissioner needs to reference his daughter and establish her role in the present universe so we know what to expect when Babs finally does show up.
2. Martian Manhunter
The roster in Justice League is fine — great even — but it has one unforgivable omission (well, two if you count Green Lantern, but he’s already confirmed to be showing up at some point in the movie): the absence of Martian Manhunter. As far as we’re concerned, Martian Manhunter, a.k.a. J’onn J’onzz is as integral to the Justice League as any of the other characters DC is trotting out for the first live action movie; and in the case of B-listers like Aquaman and Cyborg, he’s even more so.
While it’s certainly disappointing that we won’t be seeing the Green Martian suit up alongside the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League, there is still an opportunity for Warner Bros. to remedy the situation to a small degree by giving him a cameo. He wouldn’t even have to appear in his true form either; for example, you could have someone like Batman converse with a detective who, at the end of the conversation, reveals that their name is John Jones, Martian Manhunter’s human alter ego that he uses to disguise his true identity. It would make for a clever reference that DC fans would eat up and also leave the door open for the character to adopt a more significant role in the DCEU going forward.
1. Green Lantern
Although Geoff Johns confirmed earlier this year that Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corps. will be involved in Justice League in some capacity, we’re still putting the character on this list because there has been little to no information released since then about what’s going on with Green Lantern in the film; hell, we don’t even know if we’re getting the Hal Jordon or John Stewart incarnation. The most likely scenario and the one that would make the most sense is if Green Lantern is introduced in the film’s final act, when the rest of the team is in desperate need of additional support, but considering that this also seems to be how Snyder and co. will be employing Superman in the film, it seems odd to have two different characters used for the same purpose.
Whatever the case, it would be crazy for Warner Bros. to hold off on introducing Green Lantern because of the last movie being so bad, as there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with GL as a character; that was simply a bad movie. As it stands, Green Lantern is still Justice League’s biggest question mark but also represents its biggest opportunity, as a showstopping entrance could make audiences forget all about Ryan Reynolds and redeem the character in one fell swoop.
