A home release version of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with an extra half hour of footage is still months away, but Warner Bros. is already giving fans a taste of what's to come. A deleted scene called "Communion" was released on YouTube today, and it gives some very useful context for Lex Luthor's behavior toward the end of the film. Needless to say, there are spoilers ahead.
Judging by the soldiers pointing their guns at Lex there, I'd wager this takes place after the fight with Doomsday, before the eccentric evil genius goes to jail and sports his more iconic bald look. The floating cubes seem to be allowing for communication between Luthor and a demonic-looking creature.
As to who the creature is, commenters are speculating that it's Steppenwolf, leader of Darkseid's armies. In the DC universe, Darkseid is a galactic-level threat, a superpowered tyrant that can match Superman blow for blow and rules over a blazing inferno of a planet called Apokolips. His emblem is the omega symbol, and his military forces consist not only of footsoldiers, but also flying monsters called Parademons - and if you've seen Dawn of Justice, you'll recognize both of those things from Batman's nightmare.
Batman v Superman already crams in a lot of references, so I'm not surprised another one got cut. Comic fans might've been able to suss out what was going on pretty quick, but more casual filmgoers would probably be leaving the theater asking why Luthor was talking to Satan. Seriously, if that's Steppenwolf, they made him way spookier looking. *shudder*
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Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.