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Warner Bros Developing Justice League Movie: Where's The Evil League Of Evil When You Need Them

By TK | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (27)

justice_league.jpg

Oh boy.

Warners and DC are apparently taking a page from Marvel. Marvel, as you know, is riding the wave of the successful, and likely to-be successful films building up to the massive, Joss Whedon-directed Avengers movie (Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, as well as other players without a feature film — Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Hawkeye). Yesterday, the LA Times ran a profile of new Warner Brothers motion picture president Jeff Robinov, and all manner of craziness was bandied about.

Now, we have confirmation on a good bit of it via the LA Times’ Hero Complex and some of it’s good, some of it’s interesting, and some of it is just bearfucking crazy.

Robinov confirmed what many have already suspected/knew, which is that after the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern film, they’ll get to work on an adaptation of The Flash. Also, despite the concurrently running David E. Kelley “Wonder Woman” show, a film version of the famous Amazon is also in development. Of course, we also know that Zack Snyder, for better or worse, is in the midst of getting a Superman film going, which will star Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane and Kevin Costner. So that’s The Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Superman.

Yes, they also confirmed that they are definitely moving forward with a Justice League film, slated for 2013. There are several issues with this:

None of the aforementioned DC movies are even out yet, Superman hasn’t even started filming, and the others haven’t even begun pre-production (or even have scripts). Which means they’re banking on success that is far from guaranteed. In fact, it’s unclear whether The Flash and Wonder Woman would shoot first, or come after a Justice League movie pending its success. Which would be sort of an interesting approach, actually. Introduce them all at once, and then spin them off into solo projects. It makes the idea of an origin film a bit more complex, actually.

Given all of those facts, 2013 is incredibly soon. Marvel did things the smart way — they made Iron Man, and upon its success, decided to move forward. Their Hulk film wasn’t a huge success, but it did well enough and a lot of people (myself included) enjoyed it. So they had a foundation, which they built upon (albeit clumsily) in Iron Man 2, and buzz is already pretty big for this year’s Thor and Captain America. DC and Warner Brothers have none of those benefits right now, especially given how leery people are of Snyder in the wake of Sucker Punch. But they want to pull all of those things together in two years. Yikes.

Thirdly, there’s no mention of whether or not the actors in those roles (again, only two of them even are cast thus far, and only one has a release date). That sort of continuity is important (though not necessarily critical — hello, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner). I’m assuming that Reynolds, Cavill and whoever remains to be seen will be signed to multi-picture deals much as the Marvel actors have been (the craziest being Sam Jackson, who inked a staggering nine picture deal with Marvel Entertainment). But of course, that makes one wonder about…

Well… Here comes the crazy-assed elephant in the room.

Most of you comic fans know that the Justice League revolves around a core group of characters (Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Aquaman, not to mention Green Arrow and others, are not in solo film development). There is of course one big name missing from the list a couple of paragraphs back… Batman.

For the most part, people expected that part of the reason a Justice League movie would never happen was because the Christopher Nolan Batman universe is totally at odds with the concept. It ignores the possibility of magic and aliens and super powers in general, instead focusing on a gritty, real-world approach to the character. Christian Bale’s Batman simply doesn’t fit into this framework.

Which means… yup: The dreaded reboot.

According to Robinov:

“We have the third Batman, but then we’ll have to reinvent Batman…Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is.”

Here’s where the geeks snort in disdain, and I suspect I’m one of them. Given that The Dark Knight Rises is slated for a 2012 release, that means we’d be essentially see a “reinvented” Batman… the following year. Which is kind of crazy, because this isn’t just a matter of getting a new actor — it’d likely involve a new approach to the character in general, one that allows for a more, for lack of a better term, comic booky approach to the character (meaning it would allow for a more fantastical universe with aliens and Amazons and superpowers and whatnot). This is the part that seems poorly thought out.

Actually, the idea of a Justice League movie isn’t a bad one per se. It’s just that one can’t help but feel that Warner Brothers is rushing into things, to try to latch onto the current superhero craze. And DC has not had a good history of hero films, Batman franchise notwithstanding. Which means they’re planning on revamping their one success story to shoehorn it into a Justice League movie that includes characters that filmgoers have, as of right now, no knowledge of. It will be very tricky.

And possibly disastrous.

We shall see.

Oh, and we haven’t even started talking about who the villain(s) would be. Chew on those mind grapes.









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Comments

So...........basically WB is run by people who understand neither comics nor movies?? I think my head just exploded just trying to contemplate their thinking process here!

Posted by: Arco at March 30, 2011 12:32 AM

Ewww, Green Lantern's got total moose knuckle up there.

Aw hell they all do. Edna Mode, darling, you gotta move away from tights.

Posted by: figgy at March 30, 2011 12:34 AM

Oh man, this is bad. I mean, like, McRib bad. I'm not a huge DC fan but I am a fan of comics in general and to see WB putting this many irons in the fire and then try to hammer out a butterfly in less than two years?? If they're trying to give the 2012 Razzie committee plenty of nominees, then they're on the right track.

Posted by: Finickyllama at March 30, 2011 12:50 AM

I vote for Starro as the villain!

Posted by: Adam C at March 30, 2011 12:52 AM

So, I guess that means we'll probably be getting a more Joel Schumacher-ish Batman then, which sucks balls.

Posted by: CptCrckpot at March 30, 2011 12:54 AM

Wonder Twins powers, activate! Form of... a clusterfuck!

Posted by: branded at March 30, 2011 1:00 AM

It looks like DC and WB are in a hurry to fail. As a huge fan of comics in general and the DC Universe I'm underwhelmed by news of this sort.
Personally, I'd love for there to be a Flash trilogy that was completely awesome, and showcased the entire ensemble that makes the Flash incredible. Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West, Max Mercury, Jesse Quick and Bart Allen. Because that group and the relationship of the three Flashes is what makes that series great. The Rogues are phenomenal bad guys in crazy costumes with ridiculous names. So of course I don't think any of them except Captain Cold would translate to that media.
The only way I could see the Justice League Movie working with the inclusion of Batman (which is a linchpin for something like this) is to borrow from Frank Miller's All Star Batman and Robin, where they are going to form and don't want some loose cannon screwing up their mission statement. There are so many things despicable about his "goddamn Batman," but otherwise how do you not shit all over the only successful movie franchise you managed to be a part of since the comic book movie boom started? If they are really pressed for time, give your screenwriters the best story arcs these individual characters ever had, and tell them to find a way to adapt it for the screen or to strongly borrow from them. You don't have to reinvent the wheel, especially if you don't know what the wheel is in the first place. I don't like a lot of what I just read up there, but the trainwreck this may be won't likely keep my ass out of the seat. I have to support my religion, its like in the constitution.

Posted by: protoformX at March 30, 2011 2:02 AM

And you have no idea how much it stings to make any kind of reference to Frank Miller's All Star Batman and Robin.
I believe there should be a war crimes type tribunal to bring him to justice for raping Will Eisner's The Spirit alone.

Posted by: protoformX at March 30, 2011 2:13 AM

Gorilla Grod.

Posted by: Lucas at March 30, 2011 2:25 AM

You have got to be fucking kidding me. Seriously? Way to jump on the bandwagon incredibly fucking late, DC/WB. This film will fail. Theres around 9 major characters in the Justice League, and supporting ones. Basically dozens of characters all in one movie that will be around 2 hours long......

See what I mean? This is why DC fails in the film department, and in many ways, the comic department as well. Final Crisis is a piece of fucking shit created by the moronic Morrison.

Posted by: Illuminatus at March 30, 2011 4:57 AM

1) I will picket outside the theater if Gorilla Grod is not a part of all this.

2) I know this is a foreign concept, but maybe they could, I don't know, come up with an original script (or as original as Hollywood gets these days) for this monstrosity instead of badly adapting a comic book story that relatively few people know.

Posted by: Tracer Bullet at March 30, 2011 6:38 AM

I'd rather see a movie about the Legion of Doom. Put the damn Justice League in the background, and do a flick about the bad guys. The Justice League was never able to explain why Superman didn't do everything anyway.

Posted by: Mrcreosote at March 30, 2011 7:09 AM

We need to unleash a scathe of Pajibans on this monstrosity.

Failing that, I agree with all my heart (and a portion of my spleen) with MrCreosote - we NEED a Legion of Evil movie.

Posted by: The Wanderer at March 30, 2011 9:05 AM

Wonder Twins = The Gyllenhaals

Posted by: sars at March 30, 2011 9:23 AM

I could say I plan on a three-way with Scarlet McTits and Jessica McAss for 2012, and it might even be true, but it doesn't mean I am going to be able to get it done (*unless* TK lets me borrow the basement-dungeon). Warner Bros better have a dungeon of its own.

Posted by: ed newman at March 30, 2011 9:32 AM

"Thanks Chris, you've single-handedly resurrected Batman from the dregs we'd managed to sink it to. And now that the franchise is riding high on a wave, we think the time is perfect to place some anvils onto it shoulders! It's the logical path to success, right?

Oh I'm sorry, how rude of me not share. Would you like some LSD or cocaine, perhaps some crystal meth?"

Posted by: MurderBot at March 30, 2011 9:33 AM

Simple solution: have Batman abducted by aliens with magical powers. Now he has to believe.

Posted by: Robert at March 30, 2011 9:36 AM

Enough. Just ... enough. Enough with the fucking superhero movies already (and their kin, the videogame movies).

Enough, Hollywood. Just ... enough. Enough with trying to turn ever fourth-rate superguy still fondly remmembered by 50 people into a franchise.

Enough.

Make some fucking movies for the 298 million of us who don't give a fuck about comic books and superheroes.

Please. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEASE.

Posted by: , at March 30, 2011 10:53 AM

So, Warners finally manage the movie holy quadrilogy with a comic book franchise (Money, Popularity, Critical Acclaim and Geek Worship). They do this by mining the Dark Age for source material, getting environmental realism and character depth in there, and most fans say this is what they loved about it.

And to build on this they go straight to Silver Age magic, chuck a bunch of untried characters at the screen (which worked so well in X3, Avengers remains unproven), and in order to include their one fully functional franchise they want to rip its guts out to fit it into that kind of universe. God I hope this news is a fake out.

Also, isn't part of the reboot idea the time that passes? You know, new persepctives show up, film making and the audience's taste changes, and then you can have something worthwhile to present to audiences when you apply it to the story?

Posted by: Whyscifiwhy at March 30, 2011 11:10 AM

Personally, and I may be in the minority here, but I'm okay with another Batman reboot. Not necessarily as quickly as a Justice League movie would need, but in general, I like seeing new takes on characters I love. It's, y'know, one of the big reasons I'm a comic book fan, as well as being one who hates neverending continuity.

So, no, a new Batman movie that allows for comic booky ideas doesn't bother me. That doesn't mean it will be Joel Schumachery, just look at some of DC's animated output: big, four color ideas taken seriously, but with obvious elements of this is supposed to be fun. Batman doesn't only work as a "grim n gritty" crime drama, though it's obviously one of his best milieus. Personally, I'd love to see a Bat-flick with Mr. Freeze, utilizing the character as he was represented in the 90s cartoon. Hell, Nolan could make that version of the character work, too.

I also think using a JLA movie to spin-off new properties is a really interesting idea, better, to me, than Marvel's shoehorning. At least with what DC may have in mind, we'd get a Flash or Wonder Woman movie that's about the character and their world, as opposed to something that must connect directly to the next two movies in this stupid universe we're building. But, yeah, ain't no way this is all gonna fly by 2013, if ever.

Except for the Batman reboot. That's definitely gonna happen, sooner or later. Deal with it.

Posted by: RobP at March 30, 2011 12:40 PM

Wow.

So who's gonna be the sucker to take Nolan's sloppy seconds?

Posted by: Kylekap at March 30, 2011 1:09 PM

Warners is so full of shit. There are ways to make the rest of the DC'verse fit in with what Nolan's done for Batman. It would take a little creativity, some imagination, but it could be worked out without "rebooting" some of the best damn superhero movies ever made.

Oh, wait, oops. I used the words "creativity" and "imagination." We're all so fucking doomed.

Posted by: Lipton at March 30, 2011 1:30 PM

I don't understand why we can't have the dark, gritty Batman in the Justice League. Each of these characters experience their own universe in their individual comics, only having those worlds collide in the Justice League. That's part of what makes it interesting. How can Batman hold his own with Superman and the Green Lantern, being a human with no superpowers? It really brings out the strengths and weaknesses of the characters, so why can't we have a dark Batman mixed in with superpowers and magic? I, for one, would be interested in seeing what a competent script writer could do with the material.

Posted by: Kris at March 30, 2011 1:56 PM

I've read about this yesterday and couldn't get any bit of excited about any part of it. Which is bad, I understand.

Green Lantern -- one of my favorite characters -- has already shown plenty of excuses to suck all kinds of differently-shaped balls. An eventual Flash movie brings me even less hope. If risky movies (GL included) get some, say, 10 odds pro and 90 against, I'd say a Flash flick gets about 5/95 or less, even before being written. I've read a lot of stuff with the character, and the really good storyarcs are mostly too complex to be told in a movie -- one that will necessarily take some time for origins and the usual "getting it started" mambo jambo. They'd probably have to take a Back to the Future course of action and rely heavily on having parts 2 and 3 already in the works.

But none of that would necessarily stop a JLA film from being at least a nice adventure. As you very correctly put, the wrecking ball on top of the pudding is "we’ll have to reinvent Batman". There'll simply be no differently working Batman after the current trilogy. They'll have to realize that. A JLA movie will necessarily have to start in baby steps around Nolan's Batman on, to pose any chance of not becoming a complete failure.

Nolan's characterization is not only a success, it's just the only right way to make Batman work. All worthy Batman comics borrow from that same atmosphere, no exceptions made. And we're not talking about uniforms or Batmobiles, even though Nolan's are as close to perfect as the character has ever had.

Build from Batman and adapt everybody to Batman's ways, and they might have a chance.

This was an inexcusable, silly rant, but I've written a lot, so I'll click post comment anyway...

Posted by: godzilla_foil at March 30, 2011 2:46 PM

@ Kris

Nolan's Batman takes what is most relatable about him (his humanity, his grief, and his desire for justice) and builds a hero from that. No radioactive spiders or magic rings.

It's probably the principal reason why his movies have been more widely recieved than any other superhero movie out there.

Plucking him from his plausible environment and dropping him into one where people can fly or shoot lasers from their eyes would seem like a betrayal of the entire foundation of the world he was built in.

For me, it just wouldn't be palatable, and I suspect I'm not in the minority.

Course maybe I'm wrong and Magical Batman in Fairyland will be the most sucessful movie of all time. After Twilight's infuriatingly bizarre level of success, all bets are off!

Posted by: MurderBot at March 30, 2011 2:47 PM

where are the damn wonder twins? I mean this. WHERE ARE THE DAMN WONDERT- oh wait there they are-yeesh.

WHERE IS GLEEK?

Don't even think about it... I know what you are gonna say. let it go.

Posted by: JuiceinLA at March 30, 2011 3:47 PM

Personally I think they should figure out how to horn the other heroes into the Nolan big-screen Gotham-verse. There has to be a way for Metropolis, Center City, Themescyria, Io, and Atlantis to co-exist with Nolan's Gotham.

Think of how much more appealing it would be to have Superman actually exist in a world where the Joker uses a bus to crash into a bank and steal stuff. Think of how much more appealing Princess Diana would be as an actual ageless warrior princess. I think that the Flash has a ton of potential to work out as Wally West rather than Barry Allen as Barry Allen was a product of the 1950's.

And I just want to put it put it out there: Nathan Fillion would be an excellent Superman in that universe. He may be 1.5 inches too short, but he could wear lifts.

Posted by: hater from silaom springs at March 30, 2011 4:19 PM