Justice League is a proposed film based on DC Comics the superhero team of the same name.

Production

First attempt

In February 2007, Warner Bros. hired Kieran and Michele Mulroney to write a script for Justice League, ^[1] which they handed in that June to positive feedback from the studio. ^[2] George Miller signed to direct in September 2007, while the studio hoped filming would start before the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. In addition, the studio was considering filming Justice League completely in motion capture, similar to Beowulf. ^[3] Barrie M. Osborne was to produce, ^[4] with a $220 million budget. ^[5]

Filming was supposed to start in February 2008, ^[6] in Australia, where post-production would also be conducted. ^[7] Some shooting was to take place at Sydney Heads, while local colleges were scouted. ^[4] Yet in January 2008, Warner Bros. announced the film was on indefinite hold, allowing an options lapse for the cast. The studio felt the script needed perfecting, which was impossible because of the writer's strike. ^[8] As soon as the strike ended, Warners wanted to start filming in mid-April 2008. ^[9] In February 2008 it was announced that production would go to Canada, despite Miller's wishes to keep production at Fox Studios Australia. ^[5] The Mulroneys are currently rewriting the script. ^[9]

Marit Allen was originally hired as costume designer, but she died in November 2007. ^[10] Weta Workshop took over costume design, a decision that opens the possibility of their sister company, Weta Digital, doing the visual effects. ^[11]

While a cast for the film was never officially declared, various news brokers were able to confirm a number of Miller's casting choices, for which he chose predominantly younger actors who he had hoped would "grow into their roles" over the course of a film trilogy. ^[12] In October 2007, roughly 40 actors and actresses auditioned for the League, among them Joseph Cross, Michael Angarano, Max Thieriot, Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki, and Scott Porter. ^[12]

Concerning the eponymous Justice League, Adam Brody had been cast as Barry Allen / The Flash, ^[13] - with D.J. Cotrona as Superman, ^[9] rapper Common as John Stewart / Green Lantern, ^[14] Australian model Megan Gale as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, ^[13] and Armie Hammer was cast as Batman. ^[9] The decision to cast lesser-known actors has received negative feedback from comic book fans on the internet. ^[9] Brody, Common, Gale, and Hammer would have to physically train for their roles. ^[15] A number of different actors were fleetingly associated with the project; Jessica Biel had turned down the role of Wonder Woman, ^[16] while Mary Elizabeth Winstead auditioned. Teresa Palmer and Shannyn Sossamon were also interested, while Christina Milian, a comic book fan, offered her services for the role. ^{[17] [18]} Columbus Short turned down the role of Green Lantern, which rapper T.I. was also rumored for. ^[19]

From February 2007 until April 2008, the project was subject to rumors before eventually being put on an indefinite hiatus; in a recent interview, producer Joel Silver stated that Justice League "has been tabled." ^[20] In August 2008 director George Miller was quoted saying "the flick's production, initially planned for Oz, has been moved offshore, with a plan to resume filming next year." ^[21]

However, on August 22, The Wall Street Journal reported that Warner's new plan is to release four individual solo movies within the next three years before doing a multiple character movie, much like rival Marvel is doing with their Avengers film. While Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov confirmed that one of those films will be a Superman reboot, it is likely that among the other three, there will be a sequel to the successful Batman movie The Dark Knight as well as two movies introducing fresh DC Comics characters to the big screen. ^[22] Since this report a film about Green Lantern has been confirmed.

In December 2008, there were rumors that director Miller was off the project. They were dispelled by a representative of the filmmaker, however, describing the movie's status as "being seriously worked on." ^[23] As of 2010, the film by George Miller has been cancelled. ^[24]

Second attempt

Although Christopher Nolan has been rumored to be director for a Justice League film, ^[25] Nolan himself wishes to keep the Superman and Batman series individual as he is involved in the making of both the next Batman and Superman films, "Marvel are doing what they are doing and people will either respond to that really well or they won't. Its not something I ever applied a blanket rule to, but Marvel characters are very different to DC characters....You've got to go back to that element of 'What do I see when I close my eyes and think of Batman/Superman?' And for me a big part of that is their individuality. They are extraordinary beings in an ordinary world....they are two very different characters but theres an elemental feeling of power in the iconography of those characters. To me that's originally because they stood alone, I need to hang onto that in my imagining of them". ^{[26] [27] [28]}

DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson has also said they have no plans to connect future film projects together and will focus on keeping them separate. "We do have a very different attitude about how you build a content slate. And it isn't necessarily about connecting those properties together to build into a single thing. We think we've got great stories and characters that will lend themselves to great standalone experiences, and that's the way we're focusing on it." ^[29] DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns has made similar remarks. ^[30]

When the Los Angeles Times interviewed Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov, they speculated on the future of DC Comics' properties and believed a new Justice League film was in the works. They stated, following the 2011 launch of the Green Lantern film, Warner Bros. are "to release new Batman and Superman films in 2012 and Justice League, a teaming of DC's top heroes, in 2013." ^[31]

External links

Justice League at IMDb

References

{{Justice League}} {{DC Comics films}}