Should Warners Give Up On A Justice League Movie?

Only the Avengers movie, featuring 4 Marvel characters from 4 individual films, were able to beat Batman at the box office. 4 Marvel characters. Count them. 1 Batman. DC characters are iconic and when treated right are just as relevant, if not more so, than Marvel characters.

they may even first make a superman baman and flash/green lantern team up film then make a justice league film, so let see how audience react to that and since justice league is a very big 7 member team compare to avengers 4-5 core members. i dont think it would be possible to cover al of them in one jl film. how abt making a batman reboot introduce new batman in the superman batman film provided superman man of steel prove successful it just like comics that superman heard of bat creature in gotham and he would think that he may found a meta human like him :)

This is why Cory is not in the film industry. He has shit ideas, and frankly, no talent outside of telling us all how he is so much more talented and knowledgeable than everyone else.

It’s a shame Nolan wrapped up his Batman in such a tidy bow, I could see Balebats as the lynchpin of a Justice League franchise, like Iron Man is for the Avengers.  It would give the League automatic credibility.  But, that ship has sailed, apparently…

 Each of those movies however gained overall positive reviews.

Ben Affleck, isn’t the problem.  If Marvel had given up – no Avengers movie.  Period.  Making a movie ANY movie is a gamble.  If DC is already second guessing itself, then it’s best to get of the game.

How is Justice League a corny name, but Captain America isn’t?  If you’re embarrassed by the name “Justice League” then maybe superhero movies (and comics) just aren’t for you.

No they shouldn’t give up. Yes there will be people who compare the movies similarities but why should that stop anyone? Besides it’s not like aliens are the only villian they can come up with.

Gina Carano is a terrible  actress. Here acting is like a piece wood.

i rather see them pull off a good superhero movie outside of Batman first.

Have Christopher Nolan write and direct the new JLA film.  Bale said he would do another film if Nolan was on-board.  Go with what works!

WB is better off scouring the world for the next Harry Potter.

The fact that making a JL movie would be difficult goes without saying and it would take more than just following the same formula that Marvel did in bringing the Avengers to the screen. Here’s a few obversations from another grumpy old fan that should be considered:1. Get rid of the tone of self-importance. DC has a bad habit of trying to instill a sense of reverence in their superhero movies that shouldn’t be there. Marvel pulled this off by making their characters approachable. Giving them or those around them a sense of humor and keeping the overall tone light. DC has done the exact opposite in their films. Ever since Richard Donner made the first Superman film, we’ve been told that these characters require some form of honor from the movie-going public. Even the Nolan films did this to a certain degree. If the story and the challenge the characters face is great enough, the fans will honor them in their own right. After finally seeing a trailer of Man of Steel, I’m afraid we may be headed down the same path with this film as well. I hope I’m wrong. I’d like to see Man of Steel become the first in a series of films for DC Entertainment that treats the characters with respect but not because of the near eighty years behind the character but because of what he does in the two and a half hours on-screen.

2. Planning, planning, planning. To make this all work, there has to be a plan. Marvel may have found success with the first Iron Man, but they already had a sequel in the works and the inclusion of Nick Fury at the end showed they weren’t going to sit around and wait to see how well this film did before moving forward. For DC, they have to be willing to do the same. Actually, not DC, but Warners. They have to be willing to make the committment. If The Avengers has taught us anything, its that having a studio who willing to make a long-term committment will, in the end, pay off big time. Warners has go to follow suit even if it means taking their knock at the box office on one or two films. Some of the characters of the JL just aren’t suitable to carry an entire solo film on their own. I know that may be heresy to say that but it’s true. Obviously, Superman, Batman, even Wonder Woman could do so. But that may not be the case with The Hawks or The Atom. Second teir characters like the Flash and Green Lantern are a crap shoot. If done right, most fans would welcome them with open arms, but if not (as in the case of GL) you wind up with utter failure. But either way, DC Entertainment (notice I’m not saying Warners) has got to decide who should be in the JL and then how they can make solo films to lead up to that if they decide to go the Marvel route.

3. DC Entertainment has got to be given cart blanche on their films. Studio execs would be best served if they kept away from the production and just sign the checks. Get someone who can guide these stories into a tapestry that will culminate in the JL film. I favor Bruce Timm for the job because he’s done such a great job with the animated adventures. Either way though, it’s got to be someone who has the cahonies to tell the studios to butt out. I still believe this is what led to the failure of Green Lantern. Again, it will pay off in the end.

4. Get the right talent for the job. One of the things Marvel has done right is they got the right people to direct, write, and star in their films and bring an identity to them on their own. It doesn’t require a Geoff Johns or an Alan Moore to write a film for it to be a success, but at least give it to someone who understands the characters and can bring something new to the table with them. One of the reasons I’m happy to see Zach Snyder on Superman. And also, you don’t need to have A-list stars playing these characters either. Marvel didn’t and they turned out good. They took actors who were either unknown or somewhat known and surrounded them with great talent instead. Look at Thor or Captain America for a good example of this.

5. And finally, create a universe where heroes exist. Don’t go for real-world settings. Metropolis is not New York City and Gotham City is not Chicago. Too many times we’ve seen this attempted and it’s just led to problems. And also, make this world one where heroes are known to each other or at least to the fans. I’m reminded of Frank Millers’ line from Year One where Afred Pennyworth says “Next you’ll take up flying like that fellow in Metropolis.” That’s all it will take, not a cross-over per se, just a mention, a name drop, something to ackknowledge that there are other heroes out there doing the same thing. Even Marvel didn’t do this, although they were sly about how they were able to do it anyway (Cap’s shield in Tony Stark’s lab, the android Human Torch at the Stark Expo in Captain America, and of course, the mention of the Super-soldier project in The Incredible Hulk as well as all the weapondry from Stark Industries in the same film are all good examples). You don’t need a Nick Fury / SHIELD character running around each film, but if you decide to go that route, my vote would be for it to be J’onn J’onzz who would show up at some point in each solo film warning of a coming danger or something along those lines. Let him be the character that draws them all together.

Those are just some ideas that I think would go a long way toward getting a JL franchise off the ground. By my reconing, if you use Man of Steel as a starting point, introduce a solo character film six months later or so after that, culminating with a reboot of Batman, you could have a JL film in theatres no later than 2017. And that would be pushing it at best.

Any thoughts?

There are a few things with this JLA film that could easily work. The first problem though is introducing everyone. They all need a new film, mainly because a few films like Green Lantern were really not that good and it all has to fit story wise and link up, otherwise whats the point of getting them together? Also you would want the same actors playing the cast and as Bale wont play Batman again…its important they remake it (but last). This though i reckon is vital…the rumour is that its coming out in 2015….i seriously hope not as that would ruin it. 

After Superman and Aquaman are done…(as i think there is a trailer for Aquaman?) Re-make Lantern, make Flash, then Wonder Woman (that HAS to be cast well) and then do Batman last and as long as that Batman works in the style of the others, there is no problem. 

Also ill just make a few points for people to consider: 

1. Those of you worried that Superman is to powerful, fear not…they have actually dumbed his powers down for his new movie…just not sure how much. Also apart from Lex Luthor…he fights some seriously powerful enemies that a lot of the time he cant fight entirely alone. His enemies usually pound him into the floor and he doesnt usually beat a lot of them without outside help somewhere.

2. Some people mentioned Batman and Superman not fitting into the same world….thats kind of the point, they are pretty much opposite in a lot of ways, which is a perfect way to cause some tension/drama. For example, Superman is the ‘boy scout’ and cant hurt Lex….Batman however wouldnt mind bending the rules and giving Lex a beating if need be…which would cause tension between the two…Wonder Woman has abit of a temper to and she can hurt Superman so thats another possible one. Also the JL was full of people who were all very, very different anyway….thats why you need the individual movies. 

3. If they manage to get a great bad guy…(thats actually something Avengers didnt do in my opinion) then imagine the action scenes. Imagine if Imperiex was the villain! He was an interesting one in my opinion and also has a great reason for a group of heroes to get together, as thats what happened in that series…they even got Doomsday in to help in that one! I could probably see it being Darkseid though, but i think Imperiex is a larger catalyst for the JLA to form, as he destroys galaxies in one go. I have no idea, but it would put them a step ahead if they got a Villain that was explained and actually feared. I mean Loki was shit, the Hulk could of ended that film in one scene it turned out in the end. If they get that right, thats a massive thing. 

4. Christopher Nolan is essentially worshipped by WB now, they asked him to be the ‘Godfather’ of the DC films….although he has said his involvement with Superman is minimal…he is a smart guy and i would hope that WB and DC can persuade Goya and Jonathan Nolan to write more of the films, there shouldnt be as much cheese as their was in most of the Marvel stuff…hopefully slightly more ‘adult’. However Nolan wont be doing that much, at the very least he could keep it on the right track. 

Im just throwing ideas around in my head, we will know more when Superman comes out i imagine! It just seems that they have a chance to improve on what Marvel did and i hope they use that advantage and do it well. 

Worried about accusations of stealing Marvel’s thunder?  DC/Warner’s don’t give a damn about that! Didnt they hire Bryan Singer after ‘X-Men’ and Ryan wuts-his-face after staring as Deadpool?

And not calling it ‘Justice League’?  For what reason again?

I’m pretty sure Warner isnt going to go by what this author would like to see happen, and thank god for that.

Graeme, just because everyone else is trashing your article and/or building detailed fantasy movie “roadmaps,” I’ll post to say YES.

They should give up on a Justice League movie.

The best reason being that the whole Iron Man – Thor – Captain America – ta daaa The Avengers movie deathmarch was very possibly the most ruthlessly cynical, artificial, bottom-line ROI-driven exercise in all cinematic history. There was not one spark of genuine creative inspiration in that entire training course for Good Consumer Behavior.

The only way I can think of to seem even more heartlessly contemptuous of source material as well as audience, and more soulless and creatively bankrupt, would be to intentionally COPY the whole gimmick step by step. Marvel, at least, demonstrated some measure of cynical cunning in putting together their clockwork schlockfest, tasteless as it may have been. For DC to imitate the process would be like a student who copies test answers from a friend who stole them out of the teacher’s desk; the friend is dishonest and lazy but at least demonstrated cleverness, wheres the other student is dishonest, lazy AND incapable of original thinking.

Superfriends the Movie!

Sure the Avengers was great, but at least two of the individual films suffered because they were just prequels to the Avengers.  Sure the Avengers was going to happen, but Captain America needed at least two films set in WWII before he went into the deep freeze.  Fans of Cap know that the death of Bucky always bothered Cap, but now they’re doing a Winter Soldier theme as Cap’s second film, and we haven’t seen him give Bucky a second thought.  Iron Man II could have been as good as the first but they didn’t let Favre do the story he wanted, because it had to tie-in to The Avengers. Watch that without the weight of the Avengers holding them down, both Cap II and IM III will be superior films. The things that paid off the most in the Avengers was knowing the backstory and of all these characters beforehand.  DC has a chance to get it right.  Sure put off a Justice League film for now, but work on giving us solid, independent films for each character that make us really care about them, and then put it all together.

I think one of the main reasons why a Justice League movie isn’t in the works is because the WB doesn’t want to be seen as just copying Marvel. Plus the fact that for whatever reason, they can’t even get a Wonder Woman, Flash or Green Arrow movie made. We have Clash and Wrath of the Titans, Immortals, and Percy Jackson, and they can’t get a Wonder Woman movie made? I also think it has something to do with Marvel’s characters being a bit more relateable and likeable. As far as movies and television goes, the only two characters who have been a constant for DC has been Superman and Batman. You had Wonder Woman for a few years, and The Flash for his one season. Superman and Batman have been in movie serials. Superman has had three shows, five movies and four cartoon shows. Batman had the 60′s show, eight films, guest stared on Scooby Doo, and five animated shows. For the rest of the DCU, there has been the Super Friends, Super Powers, Plastic Man and Shazam, and then nothing until Justice League. It just looks like DC has an issue marketing the rest of their roster unless their tied to a team.

A Justice League movie might not be as good as The Avengers, possibly the best super hero comic movie to date. So you just don’t even try to make the movie? Seriously? By that logic movies should have stopped after Jurassic Park, because no movie will ever beat it.

And the first big name director who is RUMORED to be considering the movie decides against it, so it’s doomed? Wow. You write about this kind of thing often, one would assume you might have a tiny clue as to how it works, but apparently not.

@Lyle, I didn’t even bother reading the article. Just came to say thank you for this post. DON’T READ THE ARTICLE JUST READ THIS POST PEOPLE. It makes no sense to wonder if a JLA movie will work when we have Avengers in theaters. Get out of your own fanboy way of thinking. There are several examples in Hollywood where there were difficult movies made that had NOTHING to do w/ a comic book. Grow up people. Justice League is VERY possible.

Wonder Woman can be geared up just like the Lynda Carter’s show: campy, humorous, but plenty of actions. Men love actions!

I think the problem with the Justice League film WB wants is because they want to cash in on the idea that banding heroes together in the big screen equates to big bucks.

Look at why Marvel Studios has succeeded: they care about their characters and the stories they’re telling first and foremost (at least for the first outings of their films). They want the fans to be happy and are banking on the fact that we in turn will respond with $$$ in the boxoffice & other film-related revenue streams.

WB on the other hand is in the business of making films to make money. As producers, they dictate the film’s run, how much to spend on what, etc… all in service of their bottom line. Why was the new Batman trilogy a success? Because WB took their hands off the reins and let Nolan run with it (of course they did that before with Singer and see where it got them).

Green Lantern would’ve been a great film (it had its moments)… if they’d just cut out/down the Hammond storyline and focused on Hal (not to mention nix Parallax… yeesh… they could’ve used the Weaponers of Qward – focus on the friendships/training he had with his mentors – Qward attacks & Hal saves the day to cement his place in the corps, then lead into Sinestro’s fall from grace for the sequel, and ultimately go into the Sinestro Corps War for the end of the trilogy).

The point I’m trying to make (I think) is that Time-Warner needs to build a DC Studios division (or give DCE more independence) that will be in charge of making and marketing the movies. The folks in that studio should have the power to make movies we as fans want to see. Concentrate on the story rather than bringing big-name directors or actors into it. This way, you keep the budget in control and have a unified vision that could someday lead to a Justice League movie.

Doing a Justice League movie for the sake of doing a Justice League movie is just a recipe for disaster.

Offer Bryan Fuller anything he wants to run the show. He’s the only one with the vision, interest and talent left who hasn’t graduated to film yet like JJ and Whedon has. None of these three guys are the same at all, but they all share that passion, creativity, imagination and the ability to handle MULTIPLE characters organically in this exact genre.

 Shhyeah, GL was a TERRIBLE movie! :(