Snyderverse fans rejoice as a DC villain unexpectedly re-emerges in another franchise

With production on the hotly anticipated second season of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power already knee-deep, a trio of exciting new casting additions have been announced, offering some unexpected crossovers with a multitude of pop culture’s other biggest brands. And the majority of these are thanks to one man with more franchises to his name than most, even if Snyderverse loyalists continue to claim him for their own.

Alongside James Bond star Rory Kinnear and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker veteran Tanya Moodie, Rings of Power season two has added Ciarán Hinds, the acclaimed Irish character actor known for everything from Harry Potter to Game of Thrones. Superhero lovers, meanwhile, will know him best for his performance as the Apokoliptian villain General Steppenwolf in both Zack Snyder’s Justice League and its ill-fated theatrical counterpart.

Even though we have no idea who he’ll be playing in the LOTR prequel’s sophomore run, DC diehards who clearly vacation to the Middle-earth fandom now and again are all over this news.

And, yes, of course some are hijacking this casting announcement to continue the #RestoreTheSnyderVerse campaign (which is currently setting its sights on Netflix).

But let’s not forget that Hinds also has Marvel cred too, thanks to playing the literal devil in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

Are there any franchises Hinds hasn’t ticked off his bucket list?

From one villain to another… Could he be playing Saruman?

While Hinds is busy shooting The Rings of Power, which is taking place in the U.K. these days after production uplifted from Middle-earth’s traditional home of New Zealand for season two, Zack Snyder is teasing some exciting developments for his followers are coming this April.