Justice League

[hedrap]

http://movies.cosmicbooknews.com/content/producer-tweets-batman-vs-superman-title-justice-league

I think we already did a pretty comprehensive breakdown as to why they're flipping right to Justice League, namely fear of 2015 competition.

The closer they get to production, the more secrets they cannot hide.

This should mean Rock is GL, Luthor or perhaps Darkseid. If Momoa is in, I don't see how he's not Manhunter. Unless he was also trying out for GL.

Always keep in mind WB has denied a lot of stuff that's turned out to be true. If you believed them, then Wonder Woman was never part of this and it's not a Justice League movie.

I think we're looking at a very optimal Animated Series adaptaiton, where Luthor using Kryptonian tech to SETI, and either draws the attention of Brainiac or Apokolips, or Brainiac working as a some type of surveyor for Darkseid, who then sends Doomsday. Those are the pieces that keep turning up in every mutation so far.

[Random Axe]

WB is making this film out of fear and intimidation. Instead of letting the two heavy hitters be the marquee matchup the world has waited for, they have to go throw in the JL to make sure this is the one they make to over a Bil. All of that aside, I'm wondering how they'll introduce the characters and how they'll actually give them names. Snyder was almost ashamed to say the word Superman in MoS. How the hell can you say, "here comes Aquaman". "Oh that's just Wonder Woman." In that universe they have started, how do they start using codenames and superpowers? I just don't know how they explain away the existence of these other characters. These film makers have a HUGE task of making this a cohesive movie.

I swear, if Aquaman does show up, fanboys in the audience are instantly starting the sound effects boopboopboopbooppboopboop as he summons a marlin or squid.

What WB needs to do is finalize the cast, get them in costume and take pics for Entertainment Weekly ASAP. All of these rumors and stories are just making them look more and more inept (more than usual). Just settle all of the arguments and debates and put it out there for public comsumption, good or bad. Reality is far better than speculation. You wanna set the internet on overload? Post a pic of the Rock sitting behind his Lexcorp desk staring at the strange, greenish rock next to his wine glass.

[madmarva]

If the film does end up being a JL film proper and not a set up movie for JL with cameos by the other characters, maybe that has been the intention for more than a year.

In the fall of 2012 - either just before or just after Argo opened - reports were that Affleck had been approached by WB to direct a JLA film. He supposedly passed on it.

What if instead he agreed to play Batman in the movie and direct a follow up , but he and WB decided to keep it under wraps until MOS opened, which also would allow the Argo Oscar campaign to be unencumbered by Affleck being asked about Batman at every press event.

If that's the case, the film could have been in preproduction for more than a year which is a much more sane ramp up period for a film of this magnitude. From the answers Snyder and Goyer gave to questions just after MOS opened, they had talked story for the sequel already. Goyer may have even finished his draft of the script.

So maybe there has been a plan for a while, and then again maybe not.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^I can only hope that IS true, and this is not the film equivalent of "The New 52", which was apparently conceived over lunch and launched 3 months later.

Chris

[MIB41]

Studios don't give audiences the credit they deserve for noticing a "wanna-be project". And this has all the trappings to be perceived as such. One thing is for certain. The novelty of making a superhero ensemble piece is gone. And the Avengers got a unique spotlight because it was a true ensemble from heroes in other films. Audiences at least had time to get associated with most of the primary characters before that film came out. JL will only have Superman (and Batman more as a default from a movie series unrelated). So for me, JL is reading more like an X-Men film than the Avengers. The X-Men movies introduced that narrative of a society already inhabited by super-beings, so I'm not really sure JL will get the 'Avengers effect' at the box office, if it just becomes a costume film with cardboard characters devoid of any real development. I would not remotely consider JL a sure bet for Avengers money by any stretch. Marvel Studios did the leg work and built their Avengers product. Warner Bros is skipping that development to chase after the big pay day, so I'm pretty skeptical of what that final product will look like.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^^Agreed. That train has left the station. The novelty of previously existing heroes joining together, as pioneered by the JSA in comics, has been done on film.

[hedrap]

^I can only hope that IS true, and this is not the film equivalent of "The New 52", which was apparently conceived over lunch and launched 3 months later.

Chris

That's the most uncomforting thing I've heard in sometime. That means the average fan had spent more time deciphering how to revamp DC than DC has. Great.

I've felt that after Avengers, Goyer thought the best approach was to do it in reverse - intro the group, then split out into individual movies.

WB has never been able to launch unestablished single properties - GL and Hex are the first two that always come to mind - which is why I still think marketing is hellbent on using Batman's name in the title.

Man of Steel was all born out of the possibility of losing half the rights to the Siegel estate which was an open admission at the time Goyer pitched it and in typical fashion, they're now retconning that history.

It's very strange to me, because the acronym JLA is the easiest thing in the world to advertise because it puts the marketing focus on the characters and not the title. But, I guarantee they won't because "America" is a hard international sell overseas.

What they should do is use call the movie "JLA", and reference "America" in the Daily Planet, but have the team internally use the DC One Million monicker Justice League Alpha, which sets up Titans/Young Justice and whatever other groups as spinoffs.

WB had "Galactic Guardians" as an easy spinoff title. Not anymore thanks to Guardians of The Galaxy.

[Earth 2 Chris]

That's the most uncomforting thing I've heard in sometime. That means the average fan had spent more time deciphering how to revamp DC than DC has. Great.

I was exaggerating. I really don't know how long it took them to devise the relaunch, but it was done VERY quickly. 2 1/2 years out it's hard to remember, but it was very sudden, and creators were grousing about the upheaval immediately.

That's been my #1 complaint about the whole thing, in theory if not execution. That it was a knee-jerk reaction dictated by the new corporate suits, with little forethought given to any aspect of it...and it showed, and is still showing in some aspects.

That's what worries me about this film. If madmarva is right and this has been percolating in stealth mode since Affleck was first brought up as JL director, then I'll actually feel better about it.

Chris