ROTTEN TOMATOES: Warner Bros. Doing the Justice League Hustle

Warner Bros. Doing the Justice League Hustle

Variety sheds a little light on the production.

by Jeff Giles | September 21, 2007

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It looks as though some of the many questions surrounding Warner Bros.' Justice League of America adaptation may have been answered.

An article posted at Variety yesterday outlined JLA's development, more or less definitively divulging several details in the process. According to the article, George Miller is aboard to direct, the studio is aiming for a pre-strike wrap, and it looks like Justice League really is getting priority over the next Superman movie, "in part because Warners is so keen on the...script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney."

Justice League also impacts Warners' Batman franchise, something the article admits has led to behind-the-scenes complications:

Helmer Christopher Nolan, current steward of the "Batman" franchise for the studio, would prefer that Warners delay "Justice League" until after he finishes "Batman" projects in development; Christian Bale has also let his uneasiness about "Justice League" be known.

Some recent reports have suggested that Warners might get around any casting difficulties by opting for an animated or motion-capture approach, but the article says "all indications are that the pic will be an f/x-driven live-actioner."

Justice League of America is in the early stages of casting, and is to be expected in 2009.

Source: Variety

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(1-20 of 56 posts) | Reply

Thundaar writes:
on Sep 21 2007 04:54 AM

I am optimistic about this film. I think George Miller is a great director. It would be nice if it works with Bale and Routh too.

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BUCK69 writes:
on Sep 21 2007 05:34 AM

While agree that Miller is a great director, that fact doesn't completely dispel all of uneasiness about this project. It seems to be motivated by nothing more than greed and opportunity. I'm afraid the result is going to be superhero overkill, which is going to have an adverse affect on both the current Batman franchise and the Superman Returns sequel. You can't do this without some degree of cross-over continuity and therein lies the problem. The realistic "universes" created by Nolan [Batman] and Routh [Superman] do not fit within the confines of a JLA concept.

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Sora Freak writes:
on Sep 21 2007 05:41 AM

Yeah, I'd like to see Bale and Routh also.

and I'd still like to see a Superman sequel some time in the future

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zsmiller79 writes:
on Sep 21 2007 05:59 AM

I was hoping for a motion capture computer animated movie, esp after seeing the commercials for Beowolf. That way Routh and Bale dont have to be involved and they can make their sequels. Though I am curious to see how they pull off a live action Martian Manhunter, hope they dont leave him out! Plus this could lead to some cool spin-offs, Green Lantern movie anyone?

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arpeggio191 writes:
on Sep 21 2007 06:23 AM

In reply to this comment (#1137141)
i very much agree. This is going to be a disaster. I think they should do an animation or motion capture version... live action JLA film would be waaaaay too much.

terrible.

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SpikesInMySkull writes:
on Sep 21 2007 06:28 AM

Yeah... Bale and Routh need to stay as far away from this as possible. Warner Bros. are absolutely insane for releasing this before letting the current Batman (at least, if not the current Superman franchise) franchise play out. A Show-And-Tell flick like this is going to at worse come off extremely goofy, and at best (i.e. done right) is going confound anyone who isn't already a fan of JLA and as much as we hate to admit, it it's been proven time and again that we nerds alone can not make a blockbuster. So basically we have a lose-lose situation, where the biggest loser is any future Batman (or Superman) movie that may be in the pipe because the foul taste this is envitably going to leave in a lot of mouths (as I've established, it's only a question of who's) is going to seriously impact box office figures of any movies based on any JLA related character in the near future, throwing us into another post-Shumacher void.

Some of this damage can be mitgated if the players associated with the current franchises make it VERY clear from the start they have nothing to do with JLA, and that JLA is completely unrelated to their franchises. Some, not all... doesn't make this a good idea.

It kills me that stuido execs are so profit driven yet so lacking in business sence, yet so lacking in business sence. There's just no way this is worth risking garanteed profits from the current Batman franchise, and the current Superman franchise could be made far more profitable by trimming wasteful spending out of the budget and do a better job marketing it and timing the release (and thats without toning down the sap, toning up the action, and hiring a better Lois).

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BUCK69 writes:
on Sep 21 2007 06:54 AM

In reply to this comment (#1137167)
If Warner Brothers is insistant on going forward with this project [and apparently the greedy b*st*rds are] the only way to prevent any adverse affect on the current Batman and Superman franchises is to do it via computer animation or green screen, like "300" or "Sin City." Make a true, comic book movie. I'd actually look forward to that. The separation between this and the current Batman and Superman movies would be clear to everyone.

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Gimy writes:
on Sep 21 2007 08:00 AM

uh, guys...read up...my boy bale and routhe have ZERO to do with this flick. be nice to see em but...they aren't in it. its been said already. but i'm guessing it being RUSHED out so quickly is going to make it that much better in terms of quality. this has crapfest written all over it.

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nihilisteyes writes:
on Sep 21 2007 08:44 AM

disaster

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Shatter24 writes:
on Sep 21 2007 09:04 AM

I'm onboard with this. Strike while the irons is hot, with Batman and a newly christened Superman. Go with the Smallville guy instead and have either Bale or someone else as Batman, in only as a cameo. This could get the Wonderwoman, Flash, and Green Lantern pics off the ground.

Marvel is ruling the comic book action movie genre right now, DC needs to strike back with their heavy hitters.

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TheManWhoLaughs0 writes:
on Sep 21 2007 09:12 AM

I ageree i think bale and routh should stay with their own a## kicking sequels and DC should get up to par with marvels movie progerss

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Uradik Smoke writes:
on Sep 21 2007 11:10 AM

Totally disagree with you Shatter24 ...

The last time the the iron was struck while hot we got such " Classic" comic book adaptations as Hulk , Elektra , Punisher and Daredevil . When X-men and Spiderman hit the big money and popularity is started a landslide of quick made pieces of garbage movies that over saturated the market and turned classic heros into jokes ...

The nice thing about DC comic characters is that they have not been forced down our throut over and over so we have not seen any crappy movies about them ...YET . Ok so they get this JLA movie shot quick , re-cast it and force it out before they should and it will BOMB , there is so much that a JLA movie can do and cover that they need to give it due process and give us the best movie they can . I have always said i would like to see a Super Trilogy made of the JLA , shoot it all at once and make it a classic story that can become a classic Trilogy and pay proper hommage to the characters and stories .

If they do this now and JLA makes any kind of real money we will see a Wonder Woman , Green Lantern , Flash and MMH movies faster than you can Steaming Piles of Crap . DC will make the mistake that Marvel did and cheapen the quality of ther characters for the almighty dollar . Look at marvel now they are realizing they made a mistake and are re-making movies that were released like 6 years ago and i dont think DC wants to have to do thae same thing in a decade ...

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Metafact writes:
on Sep 21 2007 11:40 AM

For the life of me, I can't understand why Warner Bros would put their two most successful franchises in such jeopardy just to see if JL "works." I also don't understand why they would make this their 2009 tentpole film over the next Supes flick. Superman Returns grossed over $391 million worldwide! *Hardly* a financial disappointment, if you ask me.

If this film fails, and there's a fair chance it will, not only will all hope of a Wonder Woman/Flash/Green Lantern/Aquaman spin-off series be killed, but the already successful reboots of the Batman and Superman franchises will also be damaged. This script that Warner Bros is so "keen on" had better be one of the most amazing superhero scripts ever written.

Why can't they just wait? It's not as if this JL movie can't be made a few years down the road, and by then, Nolan's Batman and Singer's Superman films will have wrapped up. Not to mention the fact that this looming strike might have blown over by that time. It's not like it's going to last ten years or something.

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BUCK69 writes:
on Sep 21 2007 12:47 PM

In reply to this comment (#1138116)
You've asked alot of questions, Metafact. Unfortunately, the answer to most of them is a complete lack of foresight and money, money, money. Warner Brothers doesn't care that this project [I'm hesitant to call it a movie, since that denotes a certain sense of creativity] will very likely damage the Batman and Superman franchises. All they care about is making this a big, tent-pole money maker for 2009. I'm with Uradik Smoke. They should finish the Batman trilogy and the Superman Returns sequel first, and then make the JLA a trilogy utilizing different vision of those characters and introducing the other members.

Barring that, make the damn thing in the same vein as "300" or "Sin City."

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Sputnik99 writes:
on Sep 21 2007 12:50 PM

Marvel has overdone it. Granted. They've made a few too many movies. But IMO, DC needs to wake up and start making some new forms of entertainment, preferably in the forms of motion pictures for their fans. The only DC movies we can watch are 20-30 year old Superman and Batman movies. That's IT! At least Marvel gives us some variety (Although some of them are crap, Elektra for example).

I like being able to see my favorite superheros in motion on screen, and with DC I can only see 2 of them. It's so restricted! The thought of seeing the entire Justice League in action is an incredible idea, and I hope that they get to it right away, and make it big big BIG!

All you people who complain are so worried about actor ability that you're forgetting about another major factor - content. Maybe a comic movie is good because of what it's about. Every movie does not need Oscar-worthy performances to be good. Maybe some are good just because of what they're about. Remember Star Wars?

And if any of you think I'm stupid for thinking that way, you are shallow-minded.

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olbaid writes:
on Sep 21 2007 02:43 PM

Well, if they make it so that the narrative is that of Superman realizing that he needs help and puts together a rag tag group of heroes (Bring in some relativly low profile/unpopular ones) and having that group go in and failing to save the world, getting killed and all that, superman retreats and goes off to figure out how to fix the problem.

By this point we're halfway through the movie, Batman shows up and says something like "Been tracking your progress" or something like that and suggests that the idea was sound, it's just that Superman didn't get the right people. So they nab 1-3 other superheroes (Wonderwoman being one of them) and they go and save the day. To make it so that it doesn't feel predictable, they not only fall for a trap right after they skip over the first trap that killed the first group, and they start dying left and right. Robin here, hawk girl there, just getting mauled and dead and what not so that by the time they beat this thing only half of the second team is still up and running, battered bruised and bleeding.

And they don't even beat the thing, they force it to retreat to space or something. realizing that it would really suck if those guys came back they decide to form the Justice League.

Because the problem with having a movie of this nature is that not enough good guys die. Why would you ever worry if no one ever died. Kill not just 1 or 2, kill a whole lot of them, make it so that when they hold a knife to Batman's throat after killing Aquaman, Green Arrow, etc... the exact same way in the past 30 seconds, you would actually believe that Batman would kick the bucket.

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punktuate writes:
on Sep 21 2007 04:15 PM

yea they need to follow Marvel's idea of keeping all the same actors for a team movie by bringing Bale and Routh back supposedly when they do the Avengers movie all the actors that are participating in there respective movies Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr....etc) will be in the Avengers movie that would kick total @$$

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deneco4 writes:
on Sep 21 2007 04:17 PM

Superman sucked so bad that he will drag Batman down with him and I for one am against that.

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gamejediben writes:
on Sep 21 2007 04:20 PM

The absolute horror of this announcement is still ringing in my mind. Thoughts of corny and cheesy kid friendly versions of Bats and Supes is flashing before my eyes.

MAKE IT STOP!!!!

This won't end with a bang... only a whimper... the end of the modern comic book movie all because of one STUPID *** rushed film... How can WB be so incredibly stupid? This just can't be happening! Variety MUST be mistaken. This is too horrible for me to think about. I am already morning for the death of two amazing franchises that truely deserved better than this. Here's to you, Nolan Batman and Singer Superman! We hardly knew ye. You will be bitterly missed...

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punktuate writes:
on Sep 21 2007 04:38 PM

they need to get Christian Bale for Batman, Brandon Routh for Superman, Ryan Reynolds for the Flash (Wally West version cause he's a smart @$$ and that would rule), Omar Epps for Green Lantern (he could pull it off and you know they are going to want to make sure they have a black dude in a all white cast he's my personal favorite too cause he didn't take crap from anyone, well him and you can't beat G'nort for comic retardedness), Kate Beckinsale for Wonder Woman (she's smoking hot and could pull it off plus she was in the casting rumors), Laurence Fishburne for Jonn Jonnz ( I know he did the voice for Silver Surfer but come on who else is a total bad @$$ and super intelligent the guy rules plus I bet you he can eat a mean Oreo), David Boreanz for Aqua Man (I know a little weird casting call but dye his hair blond call it a day plus your going to need a good actor and big name if they want to do an Aqua Man movie Aqua Man is like the weakest link unless he's around water, I'd like to see Plastic Man but their is already enough people right now

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