Justice League hopes to follow the Avengers success
 

‘Justice League’ movie hopes to finally bring Batman and Superman together on screen

If teaming up worked for Iron Man, Thor and The Hulk, it has to work for Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, right?

Warner Bros. Pictures seems to think so, as Variety reported yesterday that the studio has hired a new writer to bring DC Comics' "Justice League" to the big screen. Just as "The Avengers" assembled the biggest heroes from Marvel Comics, "Justice League" would see DC's iconic characters joining forces to save the world. (DC Comics is a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.) The fact that "The Avengers" is now the third highest-grossing film of all time with $1.3 billion worldwide seems to have reignited the fire to get the other legendary superhero team up on movie screens.
[Related: Christian Bale gets emotional remembering Heath Ledger]

Variety's report states that Will Beall, who wrote the upcoming "Gangster Squad" (starring Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin) for Warner Bros., has been hired to take on the screenplay. Beall previously wrote for TV's "Castle," but he has also been announced as the writer for new movie versions of "Logan's Run" and "Lethal Weapon 5."

While interest in a "Justice League" movie has certainly been rekindled by the record-breaking success of "The Avengers," the project has been in the works for several years. Director George Miller ("Mad Max," "Happy Feet") was hired for the film in the fall of 2007, with production scheduled to begin the next year for a planned 2009 release.

The original plan was to have a completely fresh cast of actors take on the comic book roles, separate from any existing franchise. Unlike "The Avengers," where the original stars returned, this would have a different cast (so no Christian Bale as Batman). At the time, Armie Hammer ("The Social Network") was attached to play Batman, with D.J. Cotrona as Superman, Adam Brody as the Flash, and Megan Gale as Wonder Woman.


The Writer's Guild strike in late 2007 put a halt to the project, however. The production went into an indefinite hiatus, with George Miller moving on to a new "Mad Max" reboot, which is scheduled to start filming soon. In the intervening years, Warner Bros. released the disappointing "Green Lantern," with "The Dark Knight Rises" coming this summer and the new Superman film "The Man of Steel" slated for next June.

That wasn't the first time Warner Bros. tried and failed to get DC's heaviest hitters together in one movie. In the early 2000s, the studio developed "Batman Vs. Superman," which would have pitted the two heroes against each other (though in the end they would team up to take on Lex Luthor). Josh Hartnett was rumored for Superman, with Colin Farrell considered for Batman. But that was eventually shelved in favor of Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins."

Currently, there isn't a director, cast or release date for "Justice League," but summer of 2014 seems like it would be the earliest we could expect to see it. There are also a host of individual DC superhero movies in development, including the Flash, Wonder Woman, and Lobo.

It's also unclear if Warner Bros. still plans to keep the "Justice League" as a separate continuity from the standalone movies, or integrate them the way Marvel built up to "The Avengers." When Joss Whedon, the director of "The Avengers" was asked if he had any advice for the people making "Justice League," he jokingly answered, "Call me." He followed it by saying that it's harder to bring DC characters to the screen than Marvel since they are "from an old, bygone era" where heroes were less flawed and grounded. And Whedon would know, since he tried to bring "Wonder Woman" to the screen in another project that stalled out several years ago.

UPDATE: Mark Millar, the writer who created the comic books the inspired the movies "Wanted" and "Kick-Ass," posted on his official website MillarWorld.tv that someone he knows is friends with screenwriter Will Beall and got a peek at the unfinished "Justice League" script. Millar reported that the new take on the movie is "Very real-world and not at all what you might expect." He said Beall began working on the script before "The Avengers" hit theaters, and that the "tidbits I heard sound quite dark and mature, which isn't what I expected."


Sounds like a pretty lightweight cast they had planned. That isn't going to get anybody excited. The Wonder Woman they had planned has an acting resume of three forgettable minor movies in nine years.

DC's got their work cut out for them.

Fart sound.

Justice League sucks.

They're totally going to **** this up.

Oops, forgot the link

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-...203740882.html

HAHAHA go for it.

Who cares anymore.

Warners really blew their wad with that abortion of a Green Lantern flick. A lot of this is riding on how successful the Superman Reboot will be next year. I think the trailer for that will be attached to Dark Knight Rises.

Stupid idea.

It'll probably suck compared to the Avengers, but I'll see it anyway. I'm a sucker for all these comic book movies.

Wonder Twin powers, activate!

It'll be a minor miracle if it's half as good as any of the justice league cartoons.

I'm not really sure what the point of the film will be. If it's going to be gritty, dark, and realistic, it's just going to echo "Avengers". I mean, honestly, what was the point of the Justice League in both comics and cartoons? It was simply a way to get all the characters on the same page. "Oh wow, look! We get to see Wonder Woman AND The Flash AND Superman AND Batman!" Big whoop. There's no historical interaction between them that would interest us. Tony Stark has an attitude, so putting him in with the other Avengers naturally set up tension and humor. Did Batman and Superman have an antagonistic relationship? (Aside from the one Frank Miller created in "The Dark Knight Returns"?)

I guess a lot will ride on this "Man Of Steel" reboot--how it's accepted, which direction it goes in, and how Cavill does in the lead. If it's done well, a "Justice League" film might continue on track.

Well, Superman is a pretty weak character. Every time something is added to the franchise it seems forced, and fake, to me.

The last DC film I saw, "Green Lantern", was trash.

I need to get caught up on the first two films of the Batman series though.
"Dark Knight Rises" looks amazing.

I would say that they are naturally antagonistic. I could see Superman taking on the same role as Captain America did in the Avengers, with Batman being a cross between Iron Man and Black Widow.

The timing works for Batman, too. They can kick off a new franchise around a new bruce wayne now, rather than having a Nolan bat and a Justice League bat the way it was going to be if their first run at this hadn't been killed by the writers strike.

Yeah. It was ****ing horrible. I rented it from RedBox and lamented the loss of my dollar.


*upon edit: Yeah. The new Batman movies were pretty good. Batman is one of the very few DC characters I enjoy.

Agreed.

Well...I can see Iron Man. Romanoff though?
When has she ever been antagonistic to the team?

As did I. I stayed away from it intentionally for the longest time, but I got one positive review and thought I should give it a chance.

I saw it in the RedBox menu and figured I would give it a go.

LOL. Sounds awful. But I thought Avengers would flop.

The real problem is Superman. He can handle shit by himself. I mean really. What can Flash do that Superman can't?

That's what makes the character so weak. Even when someone finally manages to kill him he's just brought back to life.

I didn't think it would flop, but I was disappointed in the post-credits trailer I saw. I've never been so wrong about a film in my life.

Shit, even Spiderman is a better superhero than Superman.

This is a reason I have never really seen any Superman movies. They just never looked interested. That and Clark's "disguise."

Superman is really difficult to do

ultimate power+no personality=boring

That's why they always throw in the hidden identity stuff to try and make it work.

In a justice league movie, it won't have that.

Please please please

It's about damn time they brought Aquaman to the big screen.

...with a cameo by the Wonder Twins of course. Oh for ****'s sake, can you imagine the horrible Jar Jar Binks-ness of the monkey? I should tell you though that I convinced my wife to tap knuckles and bring our wedding bands together while saying "Wonder Twins activate!" at the end of our wedding ceremony.

LMAO

Like Elway and Manning?...

Kind of, but not gay or incestuous.

Are there actually fans of Wonder Woman (I don't mean fans of Lynda Carter's boobs - I mean fans of the WW comic)?

They've done a good job with Batman but most of the big DC names are just weak characters (I do like the Flash, tho).

They should've let Whedon helm his "Wonder Woman" film. Given his penchant for strong female characters, I think he would've done justice (pardon the pun) to it.

What was after the credits, the wife and I left

They definitely need to reboot or re-imagine or re-something the character.

I would love this done "right" cause They ****ed up Green Latern to the point of killing someone but I could care a shit less for aquaman and wonder woman

It is too hard to do. To many charactors fill the same rolls.

Superman is practically a god, only krytonite,magic andhumanity can defeat him. He would equate to thor + ironman + hulk. That is a villian not a main good guy character.

Batman = ironman

Flash = tony starks wit, he is fast, but how would that help a lot on the movie and showing the blur?

WW = female thor + black widow? = boring.

Hawkman = thor

Aquaman = hulk + posedian?

MManhunter = also a badass

This movie is just hard to make, they all are too powerful to just throw together. It works in comics and the animated series. But a movie? That shit will make john carter look successful. It would not even make the cost to film back with dvd sales.

There only shot is making supes crazy and everyone else has to stop him, then find out at the end it was luthor and darkseid for a second movie.

But again, to oneshot this withoutbuilding up he other characters will be tough.

To be honest, if they want to do a DC ensemble movie, I would rather see a Titans movie than a JL one.

Which is why this "Man Of Steel" reboot has promise, if it examines this part. So far in the Superman lexicon, AFAIK only "Smallville" has even remotely hinted that Supes might have some human angst and emotion. The recent "Chronicle" worked this nature vs. nurture point; what's the difference between a Clark Kent and a Zod? I'm not saying we need "The Dark Knight From Krypton", but making Supes a bit less of a cardboard-cutout Boy Scout would be a good step.

Same goes for Wonder Woman. Yeah, Linda Carter was hot. And cute. And smiled a lot. And basically played a 70s submissive secretary who looked sexy in tight spandex. What would the real Wonder Woman be like? Aquaman is also supposedly a bit of a pissed-off guy. With the environmental edge, he could be played as more of an angry Poseidon. They're all underdeveloped characters that are begging for a more involved treatment.

The problem is simple, though: it's not about the characters, it's also about who's playing them. Let's face it, as good as "Avengers" is, it really hinges on one person: Downey as Tony Stark. I liked Chris Evans' portrayal of CA, I liked Ruffalo as Hulk, and I liked Hemsworth as Thor, but without Downey's Iron Man it wouldn't be half the film. Iron Man (the character) and Downey (the actor) are driving that money train. For a JL film to succeed, Cavill will have to "break out" as Supes, and/or they need to convince Bale to don the cape one more time.

I'd probably agree with this for the most part. Marvel really cast all of them well, but they hit a HR with Downey. he's the cog that drives the engine.


As for Bale doing Batman for Justice League.......I don't know, I almost feel like they would have to reboot Batman for that. The Batman and the world Nolan has created feels pretty far removed from most comic book worlds. It's almost like its own thing and deserves to stand alone. It just wouldn't fit into in sort of broader comic book world.

with Superman, can't they just cut to the chase and have him fight Doomsday. Until then, I'm not wasting anymore time on those bullshit films

"The Avengers" trailer followed "Captain America" credits.
A scene with Thanos followed "The Avengers" credits (presumably a prelude to the next Avengers film).

Interesting poll on yahoo.com this morning. 150,000 votes in

What's the greatest superhero team?

Justice League 42%

Avengers 30%

X-Men 28%

LOL... No.......

You seem to echo most of the people in this thread. I think the poll just indicates there is a market for the movie to be made.

At least DC has a point of reference now after having seen the Avengers and X-Men films.

They should be able to come up with someone fairly compelling.

Marvel set up Avengers well by killing it with the Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor movies.

The last Superman film and the last Batman film don't even seem to be in the same universe.

Well...I guess we'll see if "Man of Steel" changes that.

Thanks

I'd put as much value in a Yahoo poll as I would Facebook Likes..

Justice League = Matt Cassel

Avengers = Aaron Rodgers

Perhaps, but I think JL has more "mainstream" characters then the Avengers. The quality of the movie may not equal the Avengers and Clay was right that they did a good job of the build up. I'm just stating there is a large market and demand for a JL movie.

They'll fail horribly with this. There isn't enough background to do anything with this.

:facepalm:

I bet 90% of the people who voted for "Justice League" can't name any of the other characters except Batman and Superman.

That's the biggest reason why there will be a market for this film.
People forget that these films aren't made for the average comic-book reading fanboy. They're mostly consumed by people who aren't that familiar with the source material, but...EVERYBODY knows Batman. EVERYBODY knows Superman. That's reason enough.

You think they don't know Wonder Woman?

I would be more interested in the Titans.

I don't know. You might be surprised. The Justice League has had a presence on television for years.

Exactly. About 25 years ago I thought the JL cartoon was the best thing on TV since it combined all the super heros into one show. I'm guessing a lot of people in their 30's now who aren't big comic book fans like myself remember that show quite well. And of course if you have kids I'm sure you've seen the newer version.

I'm going to take the pessimistic route on this one because what made the Avengers and almost every Marvel superhero a success is how they were all true underdogs who can relate to the average inferiority complex of real people.

DC and the Justice League, OTOH, come from the perspective of "We were extraordinary individuals who became even better!" Batman is really the only one who can relate to Marvel's kind of audience...but maybe Superman can have some potential if they play off the plot of Smallville. :p

DC=Gay
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I'd take 10-1 Odds the Hulk would stomp Doomsday's ass.

**** marvel avengers was good but justice leagues way better and yes superman and batman do have conflict because batman is committed to saving gotham while superman want to save the world. Throw in wonder woman trying to be peaceful by fighting and the flash bringing humor yet bravery is pretty cool. Piss on green lantern all you want i thought it was a fair origin movie. Also have lex luthor and ra al gul as the bad guys would be great.

I cant handle a new batman. It would only piss me off. Nolan's batman has spoiled me.
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That's not conflict.


No.
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Pass. No way does that movie be any better than the Young Justice show.

Also, DC would look like the inferior brand if a Justice League movie didn't equal what the Avengers has managed to pull off.

They really shouldn't make this. DC has a much less consistent atmosphere between its main titles. They'd be much more successful in the movies if they would stop putting out thin garbage like, well, every DC movie ever made outside of most of the Batmans and two of the Supermans.

Good: Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Begins, Dark Knight, Superman I and II.
Debatable: Watchmen.
Stinkers: Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, Catwoman, Green Lantern, Superman III, Superman IV, Superman Returns, Supergirl, Steel, Jonah Hex, Swamp Thing I and II.

They just need to stop making crap.

Mostly this.

Marvel takes the guy who's below average and gives him power and then says "How would this guy react?"

DC comics say "Somewhere we lost a step to Marvel. ALL OUR HEROES must have more power/abilities/strengths than them."

You can relate to Batman. He's human, even if a ga-zillionaire. He's still human.

Then...then it just gets stupid on the DC side...

I think the Titans are the exception to that. It started out just a sidekick group, but evolved into something more under Wolfman and Perez. Nightwing is one of DCs best characters. Cyborg is also a character very well fleshed out. They better not turn Beast Boy into the PC television version. Raven is daughter to a demon and had to worry that at any time she could release that power. Starfire had her throne usurped by her sister. They've even gotten away from the Wonder Girl/Wonder Woman comparisons.

They have some interesting antagonists like the Terminator, Blackfire, Trigon. I would prefer a Terra/Terminator teamup, but probably a better intro would be Trigon.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles teaming up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the greatest super hero team ever.

They've already made this movie!

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With David Ogden Stiers as the fat Martian Manhunter

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xA9-MT4RVm...fatmartian.jpg

True
If they want the JLA, they should just give it to Dini and write checks for him
His DC cartoons are way better than their movies
exception to Nolan's Batman series

DC is an inferior brand.

That was a TV show

Criticism of Superman as a character irritates me, even though I've never liked reading Superman comics that much. The one Superman story I did really like was Grant Morrison's All Star Superman, which I think is because he's one of the few writers that really understands the character. This is a quote from Morrison about how he sees Superman:

And speaking of Grant Morrison, there was a JLA story he wrote several years ago that I think could be a good basis for a movie. Basically Batman keeps contingency plans in case he ever has to take out the other superheroes, and a villain steals and uses them (in the comic it was Ra's al Ghul, but in a movie it could be whoever).

This. Having two young boys only seals the deal for going to these.

But looks like a disaster in the making. They could do it right. They could repeat the successful formula that powered Avengers. But it looks like they would rather go screw it all up. Brilliant.

A few thoughts (from a guy who never, and I mean NEVER, picked up a comic book even as a kid):

1. I watched Justice League as a kid. Everyone around my age did. All of us are familiar with the characters and many of us have kids now. There's a huge built-in potential fanbase. That means easy money if they don't screw it to hell.

2. I do think the Marvel heroes are much better and more interesting than the DC ones, but the DC ones aren't that bad. The Green Lantern movie was totally mediocre, but it's not a very bad concept/character. Batman is a top 3 superhero character, easy, and probably #1 in the books of many. Superman is stupid, but whatever. Wonder Woman has great tits. Err...wait, I mean she is a character that EVERYONE is familiar with (moreso than Black Widow) and they can rebuild that character any way they want for the movie. Flash is fun. Everyone knows him and he's just a pretty cool character. Aquaman -- well, what can you do?


I think they can do it, and do it right. I also think there's a pretty massive probability that they will do it wrong and it will suck. It's up to them.

They'd be fools not to at least try to make the JL film.
DC has much more mainstream comic book characters.
I know alot of people who don't know Natasha Romanoff.
I don't know anybody who's unfamiliar with Superman.

Read it. Superman is still a bundle of sticks.

I've always liked superman in that he's the reverse of virtually every other comic hero with a secret identity: Clark Kent is the mask. I don't know why, but that idea has always fascinated me.

Yeah. I liked Bill's analogy of Superman.

That's kind of cool. It's also kind of cool that he's super powerful. At the same time, it's what makes him lame. There's no sense of urgency or presence of danger to him, only the civilians he tries to protect.

He's just too powerful. In order to have a villain capable of beating him, they have to create someone even more absurdly powerful, like Doomsday. And that's the issue I have with most of DC. They're all ridiculously overpowered. You've got Supes who's probably at the top and Wonder Woman who can go toe-to-toe with him. The Green Lantern's power is only restricted by his will. A lot of people rag on Aquaman for having useless powers but he's a 100 tonner (that's comic nerd jargon for being able to lift over 100 tons).

Did you guys know the Flash is so fast he can vibrate his molecules through solid matter? So if someone were even able to catch him (he runs faster than the speed of light, so no), he could just vibrate through their hands. The Martian Manhunter is as strong as Superman with even more diverse powers. If written right, he's more powerful than Superman. Not to mention they have the god damned Batman!

So by my count that's 6 heroes capable of handing out more hurt than the Hulk did in the Avengers. To me, that's lame. I'd watch it just to see them all on the big screen, but I would never in a million years expect it to be as good as the Avengers.