Over the past couple of days, a number of rumors have surfaced regarding who will star in and direct WB’s JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, and though things are early and no one is signed, it gives us an idea of what kinda movie they’re going for with this DCCU entry.
First, Latino Review reported that WB wants Colin Farrell for John Constantine, Ewan McGregor for Jason Blood (or Constantine, if Farrell turns it down), Monica Bellucci for Madame Xanadu, and Ron Perlman for Swamp Thing. Perlman was allegedly discussed when Guillermo Del Toro was still set to direct, and “thus far everyone seems to agree that's still a good idea.”
Then yesterday, Heroic Hollywood claimed that they want Ben Mendelsohn to play Anton Arcane, who would serve as the central villain.
Finally, today, JoBlo put forward a couple of possible directors, EVIL DEAD’s Fede Alvarez or BIG BAD WOLVES’ Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado. They seem a little low-key and inexperienced for such a big tentpole, but apparently WB doesn’t want to fiddle too much with Del Toro’s draft and intends on getting this in front of cameras quickly, which might scare away any auteurs on GDT’s level.
The cast they’re going for sounds great, comparable to that first incarnation of SUICIDE SQUAD with Ryan Gosling and Tom Hardy, and we haven’t yet heard who they want for Deadman or Zatanna (though they want a comedic actor for the former). Mendelsohn would make a great Arcane, and would be killer opposite Perlman’s Swamp Thing. It’d also be cool to see the CASSANDRA’S DREAM duo of Farrell and McGregor together again, and after getting gipped with her cameo in SPECTRE, a big role for Bellucci would be just what the doctor ordered.
But I’m definitely skeptical about those directors. It’s awesome that they want horror guys, implying that this one will indeed live up to the DARK in the title, but they’ve gone on record saying that all these flicks will be PG-13 anyway, so don’t start expecting any bloody brawls or EVIL DEAD-level maiming and murder. I want this film to retain the personal touch it no doubt would’ve had under Del Toro, and I hope whoever they get won’t be content to sit back and let this be a “producer’s movie,” though admittedly, that’ll most likely be the case.
How you feeling about these potential directors/cast members?
