DC Comics’ God of War, Ares, has been rumored to be the villain of the Wonder Woman movie since before director Patty Jenkins even began shooting, and thanks to a recent magazine article and some photos of a few toys, it would now finally seem to be confirmed. Though we know Ares will appear, we haven’t really given much thought to the actor that would be stepping into the role, as most fans had assumed the character would be a fully CG creation. However, some new information has now revealed that a familiar face will indeed bring life to the powerful baddie.
According to sources close to the project, Ares will be played via a mixture of CGI and practical effects by none other than David Thewlis. Even if you’re not familiar with the name, you’ll almost certainly have seen the British actor in the Harry Potter movies (he played Professor Lupin), as well as in the likes of the most recent adaptation of Macbeth and the 2006 remake of The Omen. It was already reported that Thewlis was involved with the project in some capacity, but up until now, we had no idea who he would be playing.
How Ares will be integrated into the film’s plot remains unclear, but there are theories that he’ll be the one responsible for manipulating the lesser villains played by Danny Huston and Elena Anaya, who are attempting to unleash a deadly gas that would ultimately wipe out humanity. That doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense to us though, as the God of War feeds off human conflict and with nobody left to fight, he’d begin to get pretty hungry. At any rate, this is just speculation for now, but perhaps we’ll find out more in the final Wonder Woman trailer, which is expected to debut with Logan next month.