ROTTEN TOMATOES: Justice League of America Coming Sooner Than You Think?

Justice League of America Coming Sooner Than You Think?

Warner Bros. entering frantic strike mode?

by Jeff Giles | August 20, 2007

Given its large costumed cast -- and seeming interference with a pair of existing franchises -- Warner Bros.' planned Justice League of America feature is one of the more intriguing projects on 2008's production schedule. There's so much that could go wrong with this movie, it seems like the kind of headache no studio in its right mind would want to risk -- but according to IESB, Warners is moving full speed ahead.

How fast is "full speed"? Well, maybe not as fast as a speeding bullet, but close enough. From the article:

WB sources have informed the IESB that execs behind the Justice League of America want it to be in production as early as February/March 2008 to be ready for a summer of 2009 release.

That's fast.

The looming strike has a lot to do with this; seemingly everybody is scurrying to get projects wrapped before it happens. But no matter the studio's reasons for plowing ahead with a JLA movie, there are some fairly thorny casting issues that will have to be dealt with before a single frame is shot -- namely, what are they going to do about Batman and Superman, characters who figure prominently in the League and who just happen to have their own movies to carry? As IESB's report makes clear, nobody has a clue:

Some rumors indicate that studio execs have considered recasting Superman and a few names have popped up. But the honest truth is that the studio just does not know at this time whether Brandon Routh will return or not. We'll just have to wait and see.

And Batman? If Justice League starts production early '08 that would give Christian Bale a three to five month break between "Batman" films. Would he do it? Would the production team behind the Batman films be accommodating? Would they allow one of their three-picture-options with Bale to be used on an ensemble film? Would Justice League be the last Batman film that Bale takes part in?

On one hand, this is Hollywood, where there's enough money, there's a way; on the other, we've seen plenty of projects disappear down the rabbit hole over seemingly inconsequential hangups, and figuring out what to do about Routh and Bale is far from inconsequential. February or March of 2008? We'll see. For more about the JLA movie -- including a possible team lineup and storyline -- follow the link below.

Source: IESB.net

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(1-20 of 45 posts) | Reply

Thundaar writes:
on Aug 20 2007 04:58 AM

I hope this film will be good - but I have my doubts. Hopefully someone with a vision (and a decent story) will helm this project. It would be nice to Bale and Routh together - if for no other reason than continuity.

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Thundaar writes:
on Aug 20 2007 04:59 AM

I hope this film will be good - but I have my doubts. Hopefully someone with a vision (and a decent story) will helm this project. It would be nice to Bale and Routh together - if for no other reason than continuity.

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semierotic writes:
on Aug 20 2007 05:00 AM

Love Batman, hate Justice League. Don't do it Bale!

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nalindra writes:
on Aug 20 2007 05:11 AM

I hope Bale won't do it,he's so good as batman and it'll be a shame if he do a justice league movie and ruin his chances of another batman movie.

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Gimy writes:
on Aug 20 2007 05:28 AM

ok, this is like a weekly reminder i guess. CHRISTIAN BALE...HAS ZERO CHOICE ON THE MATTER. get it right people. its in his frikkin contract about a ensemble movie, if they say jump...he says how high. he's already said that concerning this movie. with that said, they better not include him on this crapfest. i'm not saying the movie will suck, i'm saying he's too good of an actor and a presence to be in this kind of flick. this could get really bad if they really rush it and demand he be in it...but if they're all about $, they'll do it

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Elixor writes:
on Aug 20 2007 05:37 AM

Even though I like Bale as Batman, it's more important for them to get Routh as Superman. It's much easier to get someone else to portray Batman than it is Superman. If they get neither, good luck. Won't be holding much hope for this movie.

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BUCK69 writes:
on Aug 20 2007 05:41 AM

In reply to this comment (#1056548)
Supposedly the script is getting a lot of praise. Regardless, I have a bad feeling about this. This could be way too much way too soon and it could wind-up killing both of the Batman and Superman reboots.

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arpeggio191 writes:
on Aug 20 2007 05:55 AM

this is a terrible idea. The movie will feel like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - too many characters, not enough story development and probably a terrible plot.

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dracus writes:
on Aug 20 2007 06:11 AM

The only way I can see this working is if they start slowly with a couple of Superheros in the league at first and then add more in subsequent movies. I don't see the need to have both Superman and Batman in the first movie

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mouse_clicker writes:
on Aug 20 2007 06:12 AM

Barry Allen as The Flash and they're doing the OMAC project? That sounds fishy. And John Stewart as the Green Lantern? Even fishier. I don't trust this source.

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Defmonkey writes:
on Aug 20 2007 06:14 AM

Seems a bit rushed for me as well. I mean, the other big characters being Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Latern, Green Arrow, Aqua Man. There's alot of big characters here, and they're gonna make a movie with all of them togeather, telling their storyline and making some save the world some how?

Say what ya want about Marvel and making The Avengers. But I think they have the right idea to make separate movies for each character to understand the character, then make a movie with all of them togeather.

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TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Aug 20 2007 07:16 AM

Here's why this idea terrifies me/pisses me off--

By the time both Batman Begins (BB) and Superman Returns (SR) went into production, they both were helmed by people who passionately cared about the source material; Chris Nolan and Brian Singer-- say what you will about the final artistic merits of SR, you can't really argue Brian Singer didn't put his heart and soul into it.

To really do this film justice (screw the pun), you'd need both a director and a screen writer who cared about EVERY single JLA member and knew them intimately enough to figure out how to gel them with each other. -Think Michael Chabon and Sam Raimi on their opus, Spider-man 2. You can't just have some Brett Rattner going 'I'm a real fan of JLA' (and I didn't hate Xmen3, curiously enough, until I just saw Rush Hour 3. What a piece of ****. NOW I'm offended at Rattner's Xmen3, retroactively). There is no JLA without the individual member's stories.

I get the distinct feeling that this is an entirely Corporate exercise, with some exec demanding 'Why don't we have an X-man franchise at DC!? Smithers, Get me an X-man franchise!!'

Mostly because this movie isn't in production yet, I'm not condemning it, yet, but to quote every single character in the Star Wars Pantheon, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

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TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Aug 20 2007 07:19 AM

...And they seriously could knock this one out of the ****ING PARK if they just kept it as animated-- no problems with Routh or Bale, 1/2 to 1/3 the budget, AND they'd already have a built-in rabid audience. AND THEY ALREADY KNOW HOW TO DO IT WELL, FERCHRISAKE.

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jeremyd4 writes:
on Aug 20 2007 07:22 AM

All this talk about having Routh and Bale for "continuity's sake" seems wrong. A JL movie will ruin the "continuity" and styles of the stand-alone films. They don't connect! In the case of Batman, using Bale in a cheesy JL movie will totally compromise everything they've set up in Begins.

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Bigbrother writes:
on Aug 20 2007 07:23 AM

They could very easily just do it like X-men. Push certain characters to the fore and give others only bit parts. No one says they need to give as much attention to Aquaman as they do Batman. There are only so many things a guy who talks to fish is needed for. "We've got a special mission in Iran. Aquaman suit up...LOL, I'm just messin with ya, what are you gonna do in the desert? Call Superman. We'll send you out if Greenpeace gets uppity again."

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JUDGE DREDD writes:
on Aug 20 2007 07:31 AM

I would prefer to see the guys who made them fan films... dead end, and the other one with superman in it, to play Supes and Bat. They seem to look visually more like the comics than Bale n Routh. They play their roles well, but this movie ISNT about a real life gotham nor a christopher reeve style metropolis. This should look fresh and new! And it should be its own animal.

check out the batman fan films on you tube. perfect style for this movie.

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Movie person writes:
on Aug 20 2007 07:43 AM

I've never really liked 'team' Superhero things, I just can't see it as a movie. Animation is where it's at.

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thetruebastard writes:
on Aug 20 2007 07:46 AM

It would be awesome if they just used the original five members: The Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. Bale and Routh could make small appearances as Batman and Superman.

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wiggins writes:
on Aug 20 2007 08:32 AM

if they actually get bale and routh in the same movie i will eat my own brain.

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JackHorner1979 writes:
on Aug 20 2007 08:47 AM

I think this says more about us than it does about the project. The idea WB would push this out fast, probably using questionable material, and cast live action, verifies that we simply will watch anything these guys throw at us as long as they simple title it in a manner that resonates with us. WB understands this or they wouldn't be doing it.

I wrote this sometime ago, but it's still apt: God, what kills the imagination faster than to put grown men in tights and spandex, capes and cowls and actually feed off each other in a serious manner, pretending the world they live in is in ultimate peril.
Superhero films work, in one level or another when they all seem to be part of a particular mood and theme. So while X-men works on screen, crossing heroes over and making their world interchangeable with another doesn't work.
If only for the reason that each character is too larger than life. So while we might suspend our belief for Bale as Batman in his own film. Or Routh as Superman in his series, crossing them over really gives weight to the contrast, the differences and how meke each one is to the next. Point is, these heroes are larger than life and the people portraying them, once together will show this.

I wish studios would have faith that a JLA film would work outside the current continuity of each hero film and do the entire JLA film as a CGI animation, like the new Beowulf film. Sadly, they won't. And they will continue to chug out these abysmal ideas and get eaten up by the audiences at large.

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