We've been hearing a bit of news lately about that long-percolating JUSTICE LEAGUE live action movie project. We know GANGSTER SQUAD's scripter Wil Beall is writing it. Its final character roster was recently revealed. Etc.
Despite such forward motion, audiences shouldn't be quick to embrace the movie's certainty. Seems its fate may be intertwined with the performance of Zack Snyder's upcoming Superman opus MAN OF STEEL.
Stakes are high for "Man of Steel." Other than Nolan's Batpics, Warners has not been able to effectively exploit the DC library. Its 2011 "Green Lantern" underperformed, and a "Justice League" film wouldn't likely be in theaters before 2015, as Warner's top brass has indicated that they are awaiting the results of "Man of Steel," which opens June 14, before moving further ahead.
...says Variety HERE.
Which, while sounding dissuasive, makes a whole lotta sense given the circumstances.
As a DCverse cross-over/'the gang's all here!' picture, JUSTICE LEAGUE has not been set-up as thoroughly or as deftly as the pre-AVENGERS Marvelverse. The folks at Warners have magnificent, time tested characters to work with...but several appearing in JUSTICE LEAGUE have yet to be introduced to the public on the big screen. Green Lantern (said to appear in JL) ...who did have his own movie recently...failed to set the box office on fire and can hardly be seen as a bankable commodity. Leaving Batman and Superman, not surprisingly, anchoring the JL project.
Which tells me two things...
There's been a lot of coyness surrounding whether Henry Cavill's Superman might appear in JUSTICE LEAGUE. Given indications that MAN OF STEEL helmer Zack Snyder is consulting on the writing of Superman's JUSTICE LEAGUE appearance...and given that Warners is waiting to see how Cavill's MOS performs...it may now be a safe bet to assume that Cavill will appear in JUSTICE LEAGUE should the project move forward. AND, presuming that project moves forward sooner than later (i.e. a pre-reboot BATMAN), I'm betting that at least some lip service is being paid to integrating Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character from THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Again, because if Warners is feeling goosey about JUSTICE LEAGUE...and if a few of its characters have yet to appear in their own films...the studio will be eager to roll-out two highly visible heroes who already have some street cred in the minds of audiences. And, in Batman's case (assuming Christian Bale would not appear), this would be handled by plugging into those final moments of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.
So that's my perspective. Which may, admittedly, be flawed. At the end of the day, Warners might ultimately opt to wait on a JL movie until they've herded more of their proverbial ducks into a row. But if they're moving on it soon, my thought process might possibly (?) make a bot of sense...
Nic Cage in costume fitting for aborted SUPERMAN LIVES movie...via SupermanHomepage.
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