Zack Snyder's Darkseid Actor Returning As a Different, Iconic Villain

Zack Snyder's pitch-perfect pick for Darkseid on the silver screen is about to take on another iconic DC Comics role.

Per a press release from DC Comics, fan-favorite actor Ray Porter has joined the cast of Penguin Random House Audio's upcoming adaptation of Mark Waid and Alex Ross' 1996 hit, Kingdom Come. The cast of the Kingdom Come audiobook is led by Marc Thompson, Glenn Wrage, and Lorelei King as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, respectively. The audiobook also stars Kerry Shale as The Spectre, William DeMeritt as Billy Batson, Edoardo Ballerini as Norman McCay, Garrick Hogan as Wesley Dodds, John Chancer as U.N. Secretary Wyrmwood, Tom Alexander as Magog, and Ray Porter as none other than Lex Luthor.

The audiobook of Kingdom Come from Penguin Random House Audio is adapted by Dirk Maggs, who has developed and produced numerous hit audiodramas and audiobooks, as well as various BBC radio dramas. "I've been adapting and directing multicast, award-winning audiobooks of iconic DC Comics Superman and Batman stories for more than three decades," Maggs said in a statement. "Among them all, Kingdom Come was always the one that got away. At last, thanks to Penguin Random House Audio, I can tell Mark Waid’s epic story, with Alex Ross' beautiful artwork brought alive through cinematic sound design combined with James Hannigan’s stirring orchestral score."

Written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Alex Ross, Kingdom Come was released in 1996 and introduced readers to a whole new version of the DC Universe. In a not-so-far-off future, a new hero named Magog emerges to brutally murder the Joker in retaliation for the Clown Prince of Crime's attack on the Daily Planet. This set off a whole new era, one in which heroes, villains, and world governments alike wage war against one another out in the open. Kingdom Come introduced the minister Norman McCay, who serves as the narrator of the series and its primary protagonist after being called upon by The Spectre to help pass judgment on the world at large. Kingdom Come was lauded by critics and readers alike upon its release, and has since become an indelible part of the wider DC Comics mythos.

Ray Porter Returns to the DC Universe

Porter's career stretches back to 1998, which marked his television debut with an appearance on Murphy Brown. In the decades since, Porter has appeared in numerous hit series and feature films ranging from Will & Grace to ER to The Mentalist. Since 2008, Porter has also enjoyed a lucrative career providing voice work for a variety of audiobooks, including the audiobook adaptation of The Sandman. Porter was cast as Darkseid for 2017's Justice League, although he wouldn't make an appearance as the character until the 2021 director's cut, which was released as Zack Snyder's Justice League, and offered audiences an experience much closer to Snyder's original vision of the project compared to the version that made its way into theaters after being completed in post-production by Joss Whedon.

Kingdom Come from Penguin Random House Audio will be available on Nov. 18.