Warner Hungry for Justice League

Friday, February 23, 2007
By: Ramin Zahed

As the Nicolas Cage comic-book vehicle Ghost Rider continues to blaze a hot trail at the box office this weekend, studio suits around town are furiously trying to greenlight more live-action superhero movies. Industry trades reported this morning that Warner Bros. is putting the pieces together for a live-action adaptation of DC Comics’ Justice League of America. The movie, which will feature the dream team of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Flash, will be penned by Michele and Kieran Mulroney, who also wrote Mr. and Mrs. Smith. F.Y.I., Kieran is actor Dermot Mulroney’s (My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Family Stone, Zodiac, Hair High) brother.

"The Justice League of America has been a perennial favorite for generations of fans, and we believe their appeal to film audiences will be as strong and diverse as the characters themselves," noted eff Robinov, Warner Bros. president of production, in a Daily Variety piece today.

Creator Gardner Fox first introduced the team in The Brave and the Bold comic book in 1960. The original line-up included Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter. Other crime-fighters that have joined the League I nclude Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Plastic Man and Zatanna. The concept was first explored in the Super Friends animated series (1972-1985) and inspired Cartoon Network’s much-praised adaptation Justice League (2001-2004) and Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006), overseen by Bruce Timm, Glen Murakami, James Tucker, Rich Fogel, Paul Dini and Sander Schwartz to name a few.

One detail that is bound to spark numerous discussions at this week’s Comic-Con in New York City is how the project will handle the casting of Batman and Superman. Will Christian Bale and Brandon Routh be asked to reprise their modern roles as the brooding heroes? Meanwhile, fans have already started the sequel countdown for director Chris Nolan’s The Dark Knight (set for 2008) and Bryan Singer’s follow-up to Superman Returns (slated for 2009).

Reader Comments

• Joe Lee : Graphic Artist : AniGRAF/x

  Friday, February 23, 2007

  NO WAY would I let the writers of \"Mr/Mrs Smith\' do a multi-million, heavy, hard-hitting Feature like this incredible tradition-!!! That dumb movie was a major let-down!! What idiot chose THEM??!!!!? They need another \'James Cameron,\' or Writers of \'Die Hard\', and \'Batman Begins\' or the team that does \'Smallville\'!!!! Get the Animation Writers to do it!!! Come on, people-!!!
  
  Hell-! I CAN DO A BETTER JOB-!!!!!
  
  *mr/mrs smith, *BLAH!!!* dumb people...
  
  Thank you

• Daryl Taylor : animation student :

  Saturday, February 24, 2007

  I really don\'t see how this would work. The concept of placing all your best superheroes in a all star team is great for a comic book and makes an absolutely fantastic cartoon but to do it in a live action movie seems difficult. To have that many characters co-existing on screen at the same time, making sure each gets the screen time they deserve is going to be tricky. The movies themselves tend to make you feel that they each exist in their own particular world and to have them co-existing, an the story to make them meet up has to be immense. Isn\'t the new Wonder Woman movie now set in WW1 anyway. I do hope studios don\'t get on a bandwagon and start producing a load of bad superhero movies like what they did in the seventies with the original Batman and superman movies.

• Trent Thompson : animation student :

  Saturday, February 24, 2007

  I soooo had this idea in my head lol. I always said that someone should do a JLA movie already - but now I\'m concerned it might suck if they cast it wrong and have crappy directors...It is a daunting task to come up with the storyline and make all the characters co-exist, but it is possible...let\'s hope they don\'t mess this up...

• Matthew : Console Operator : Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

  Wednesday, February 28, 2007

  The writing team is questionable, but can\'t we give this the benefit of the doubt? If the writer\'s are talented enough and passionate enough and there\'s a story to be told, there\'s no reason these characters can\'t co-exist. Fans like me are ready to see what we\'ve always wanted to see; but it\'ll never touch the animated JL(U).