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Justice League is the fifth film in the DCEU and is DC’s answer to Marvel’s Avengers.

But it hasn’t been a smooth ride.

After Man of Steel, the studio released last year’s Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad — both of which were derided by critics, but hits with fans.

But backed by Gadot and director Patty Jenkins, this summer’s Wonder Woman infused DC’s movie universe with heartfelt humour and badassery, putting its sprawling, interconnected DCEU back on track.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d get the reaction and the response that we’re getting,” Gadot tells Postmedia Network in an exclusive Canadian print interview.

“That was incredible to me.”

Now, Justice League — which is directed by Zack Snyder with filmmaker Joss Whedon adding some finishing touches — brings the DC characters together in one giant film, and lays the foundation for Warner Bros.’ upcoming superhero film slate that includes next year’s Aquaman, solo Batman and Flash movies, Shazam!, Black Adam (with Dwayne Johnson), sequels to Superman, Wonder Woman and the Suicide Squad, and more.

“It’s going to be very exciting,” Gadot says.

Clearly brimming with enthusiasm about the future of DCEU, Gadot and Miller sounded off on an early Sunday morning about Justice League’s choice of villain, the success of Wonder Woman and what fans can expect in the years ahead.

Steppenwolf is one of DC’s earliest villains and he was created by the late Jack Kirby. What did you think of him as the main antagonist for the Justice League to face off against?

Ezra Miller: You know Steppenwolf is this ancient mythical force of evil. So he’s a deeply exciting character to have face off against the Justice League. In the comic books, the Justice League has often come together to deal with (alien) invasions. The origin story of the Justice League in the original comic book series dealt with them fighting off the Appellaxians. So Steppenwolf’s a great character for the team to go up against.