Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice pits DC’s two titans against one another, but the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight won’t be on opposing sides the whole time. As the subtitle suggests, the film is also serving as the launching point for Warner Bros.’ DC Extended Universe, which includes the first live-action Justice League film and solo spinoffs for all the team members. If heroes are to unite, there has to be a larger threat presented in Batman V Superman that brings them all together.

Thanks to the third trailer for Dawn of Justice, fans know that the creation of Doomsday is what causes Batman and Superman to put aside their differences and join forces with Wonder Woman to save the world. In a film with so much to unpack, some are surprised that the iconic villain is appearing this early on in the franchise, but Snyder has an explanation for why he went this route.

In the latest issue of Empire (hat tip CBM), Snyder talked about why he included Doomsday in this film, citing the need to have an intimidating presence go up against DC’s Trinity:

Indeed, Doomsday should present quite a challenge for the protagonists. His being in Batman V Superman makes sense from a filmmaking perspective. One of the main criticisms of most Superman movies is that the Last Son of Krypton is rarely threatened by his opposition, sucking tension out of the action sequences. Doomsday is best known for his role in the “Death of Superman” storyline from the comics, so it’s clear he’s a threat to Superman, Batman, and anyone in between. Seeing how the heroes fight Doomsday and defeat him should be interesting and thrilling to watch.

“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.”

Most fans aren’t upset that Doomsday is in Batman V Superman; they feel that his appearance in the latest preview was a spoiler and took away from what was supposed to be the main event (Batman fighting Superman). Snyder maintains that there’s still a lot left to be discovered in the final film. One aspect that’s being kept under wraps is the role of Wonder Woman herself, Diana Prince. In his interview, Snyder peeled back the curtain a bit to hint at a possible connection between the heroine and villain Lex Luthor:

“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.”

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will hit theaters on March 25th, 2016, followed by Suicide Squad on August 5th, 2016, Wonder Woman on June 23rd, 2017, Justice League on November 17th, 2017, The Flash on March 23rd, 2018, Aquaman on July 27th, 2018, Shazam on April 5th, 2019, Justice League 2 on June 14th, 2019, Cyborg on April 3rd, 2020, and Green Lantern Corps on June 19th, 2020.

Source: Empire (via CBM)