Batman Will Absolutely Be In Justice League Film, Source Says
Filed under: Action, Warner Brothers, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
All hell broke loose earlier this week when it was reported that Warner Bros. was considering shoving that Superman Returns sequel into turnaround in order to use the character (and Brandon Routh) in a Justice League movie instead. While the studio has not officially denied those rumors, chances are pretty good we'll still get our (much-anticipated?) Supes sequel as planned. However, the same rumor also noted that, if a Justice League flick were to seriously take shape, Batman would not be included because the character is "too big to waste" on a film like JLA. Naturally, JLA fans from across the globe cried out, "But you have to use Batman! And Superman! Without both, you might as well scrap the whole thing!"
Well, IESB is now reporting that, according to their super secret inside studio source, Batman will definitely be in the JLA movie ... if it happens. In fact, Christian Bale even has a clause in his three-picture contract that allows him to star in one "ensemble" film as Batman. Regardless, I think the real question here should be: Will the JLA movie ever make it past development stages? I imagine the budget for this puppy would easily clear the $200 million mark; is it worth it for Warner Bros. to jeopardize two successful existing franchises (Batman and Superman) in order to hopefully help launch future franchises like Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern and Aquaman? I'll tell you this much: Seeing Christan Bale show up as Batman in another movie, without Christopher Nolan helming, could seriously damage the look and feel of everything Nolan has worked so hard at to create. Not only that, but if Nolan did originally plan for a Bale-based trilogy, the studio would immediately have to re-negotiate the star's contract ... if (and that's a big if) he's even willing to talk about more.
So what do you do? Is a JLA movie worth all the trouble? And, if Warners does decide to go ahead with it, who directs? I know Nolan would never touch the thing, though Singer might. If it were up to IESB, Zack Snyder would helm. Great, so that means Superman and Batman would have to walk around half-naked, slicing off the heads of villains in exotic slo-mo. Sorry, I'll pass.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-22-2007 @ 11:19AM
Scott said...
I can't even count the ways this project could get screwed up.
On the other hand, there's no way it's ever getting out of development hell, so I'm not especially concerned about it.
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3-22-2007 @ 11:34AM
Rich Drees said...
Superman and Batman on film are so tonally different, I have serious doubts that they could really work together, let alone adding a bunch of other heroes. But like the poster above, I don't see this getting out of development, so I'm not that worried by the whole thing.
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3-22-2007 @ 11:35AM
Rich Drees said...
Superman and Batman on film are so tonally different, I have serious doubts that they could really work together, let alone adding a bunch of other heroes. But like the poster above, I don't see this getting out of development, so I'm not that worried by the whole thing.
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3-22-2007 @ 11:58AM
MacBookOwner said...
I just can't picture Bale's Batman sitting at a table eating Danish with Superman, Wonderwoman, and the dude from Mars, talking about his day.
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3-22-2007 @ 11:59AM
Bryan said...
Let Snyder direct one superhero movie first before he gets prejudged as a comic book movie director.
JLA needs to be developed tactfully. I honestly think it will depend entirely on the director, and it's got to be someone who, like Bryan Singer, has a serious passion for the character and the material, and can also visualize the necessary action sequences.
This is going to sound crazy, but maybe someone like Rodriguez or Tarantino who have enough creative gravitas as indie directors, but also a clear love of comic book characters as well.
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3-22-2007 @ 12:00PM
Flit said...
"Great, so that means Superman and Batman would have to walk around half-naked, slicing off the heads of villains in exotic slo-mo. Sorry, I'll pass."
Boy, you really hated 300 didn't ya. Let it go, the Dawn of the Dead remake wasn't "shirtless zombies in slow mo chopping off the heads of innocents in exotic slo-mo".
Sheesh.
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3-22-2007 @ 12:02PM
palaba said...
I say Do it!!! Take lots of time spend lots of money. It WILL get lots of hype. And help "re-start" more than a few franchises. They did the JLA Unlimited right, if the producers are smart enough to let people who know JLA have more control than the "Hollywood types" it could be great!
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3-22-2007 @ 12:13PM
nefariousone said...
This could be really good or really bad depending on the director and story. if done well, I can see it being successful. But there are a lot of obstacles to face and I am not sure it will ever even get out of the gate.
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3-22-2007 @ 1:02PM
Ellory said...
The problems with making a JLA movie vastly outweigh the probable gains from the undertaking. Batman Begins is extremely well made, well plotted, and raised the standards and expectations of a comic book movie. Superman Returns was aesthetically a good movie, for the most part; but failed in pretty much every other regard. Batman made more money and was more acclaimed than expected, Superman made less money and was less acclaimed than expected. The major idea is that Batman does not need the help, Superman absolutely does. I know that is probably the idea, bring in the guy who's making money and have him help out the struggling guy. In the side effect you create a platform to launch your other series. It makes good business sense but I'm going to bet that unless Nolan is involved directly in the project, Bale is going to keep himself out of this. That means two different Batmans. Any DC fan should find that this is the exact problem that affected the DC universe so many years ago. It will also hurt them if the man everyone currently associates as Batman refuses to be in this movie. This movie is destined for the lowest ring of development hell, unless something unforseen happens.
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3-22-2007 @ 1:28PM
Ron Moses said...
It's not gonna happen. Ever. Stop thinking about it. Superman vs. Batman had maybe a 12% chance of ever hitting the screen... this has only the most minuscule fraction of that. Just put it out of your mind and get back to counting the days 'til Grindhouse.
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3-22-2007 @ 1:53PM
Rich said...
In order for this to work, this needed to happen before Batman Begins and Superman Returns. Now they have re-established the characters in their own movies it will be hard to make the JLA movie work with them in.
There have been many members of the JLA, just like there was with the X-Men. They can go with some of the second string characters and have a great movie. Throw in Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Firestorm, Guy Gardener, Green Arrow and Black Canary for a fun movie...
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3-22-2007 @ 3:24PM
Kristian Volsing said...
Get Paul Greengrass to direct it. He was going to do Watchmen a few years ago, and Empireonline, who saw production artwork, said it would have been amazing.
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3-22-2007 @ 4:57PM
Iva said...
In addition to losing Nolan's touch, can anyone really imagine Christian Bale's amazing Batman acting opposite Routh's "meh" Superman? (I mean, he was okay but has got nothing on Bale.)
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3-22-2007 @ 4:20PM
Chris said...
I do like the idea of more of a JLI movie that someone mentioned above, with characters like Booster Gold and Guy Gardener as Green Lantern. Go for a more humorous feel, but still a good super hero tale.
Comic book writers are getting a foothold in the "mainstream" entertainment market with shows like Lost and Heroes, so get Giffen and DeMatteis on a JLI project.
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3-22-2007 @ 4:12PM
Chris said...
As for the person worrying about two different Bats, either physically, or thematically, that is business as usual to the comic world. Look at the animated universe Batman books, vs. Detective Comics, vs. Batman. Three different current book series, three different styled Batmen. And they all sell. Yes, that doesn't play as well in the movie world, but it could still work.
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3-22-2007 @ 4:32PM
Chris said...
There was a discussion in the recent Avengers book about why you can't have a group of nothing but tanks (powerhouse characters). Sometimes the solution to a problem is a sledgehammer, sometimes its a scalpel. That's why teams like the JL and The Avengers work, and why a movie could work. You get some big building breaking slugfests, but you can also get your martial arts fights, your James Bond moments, car chases, space battles, and all the other action cliches you want.
Personally, I would rather see more Dini/Tim JL than a live action one. I would like to see a good live action superhero team movie. Maybe a Suicide
Squad, or a Teen Titans flick. Something with an appeal to the mainstream audience ("Its like the Dirty Dozen with super villians) or the advertiser coveted youth marktet ("Its like a WB show, but
with a giant tower that looks like a T and a more than usual amount of hotties in Spandex!).
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3-23-2007 @ 9:59AM
Jonathan said...
I agree that trying to shoehorn the current Batman and Supes into a JLA movie is the wrong move. Where is it written that the actors in the solo flicks have to be the ones in an ensemble movie? I suppose you have to if it's in the same continuity but change the time frame and you are free of that restriction. Do a JLA 'Kingdom Come' movie and have at it with older characters. Do we really need to do origins every time we show a new character? I would think that 40-60 years of comic literary history is enough for anyone who would pay $10 to go see a JLA movie anyways. If you really need character exposition, send out a free 'origin's comic prior to the movie as a way to promote and help newbies familiarize themselves with the characters and presell the movie.
Damn... that's a good idea and now I'm sure WB will steal it and say they thought of it all along.
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3-23-2007 @ 10:03AM
Jonathan said...
And I still want to see Bruce Willis as Batman and Patrick Warburton in a Frank Miller penned/Zach Snyder filmed "Dark Knight Returns".
(Have I been posting enough about this lately?)
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3-23-2007 @ 11:39AM
Bastien said...
here's a crazy thought. wait and see what story they would want to do. there were some darker times in the old JLA. they might go with that. and who is to say that Nolan wouldn't like the story they picked and get involved. or that Bale wouldn't do it without his new BMF. we just don't know. but folks are dissing off of rumors
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3-23-2007 @ 5:38PM
The Jeremy said...
This project needs to be canned in favor of a "World's Finest" teamup with just Batman and Superman.
Use Bale as Batman - and with the existing Batman Begins mythos entact - but just totally ignore Superman Returns (like most of the movie going public) and use Tom Welling instead. Have Batman be the more experienced of the two heroes and use that as another source of friction between the two. And get Nolan to direct it.
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