First JUSTICE LEAGUE Trailer Drops!

I'm in Vegas in advance of Cinemacon next week and I'm excited about what's happening here on other fronts. I should be in a position to talk about something soon. Cryptic I know!

Meanwhile, the first trailer for JUSTICE LEAGUE is finally here and while the action and visuals look amazing, and seeing all those characters on the screen together is fascinating, I'm left with worry that there is no story and character development, including the villain.

I'm most intrigued with Wonder Woman and Aquaman, and the fun they can have with The Flash. Also thinking about when Superman makes his appearance in the movie.

However, my instincts tell me that JUSTICE LEAGUE may not deliver that ensemble movie we've been waiting for since Marvel's THE AVENGERS. Whedon pulled off an amazing feat of weaving characters, plot, development and at the same time feeding a franchise toward the Infinity War. While I don't want a photocopy, I hope they can deliver here with these beloved characters.

Here's the movie's storyline:
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

JUSTICE LEAGUE is slated for a November release.

Whoa! Deathstroke Is In JUSTICE LEAGUE?

Interesting piece of news flooding the Internet today after Ben Affleck (Batman) tweeted the following:

https://t.co/0NsNzCtGip

— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) August 29, 2016

Deathstroke? Sure looks like him! Here's how Wikipedia describes him: "Deathstroke (Slade Joseph Wilson) is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez. He is a mercenary and assassin who first appeared in The New Teen Titans (vol. 1) #2 (1980). Wizard magazine rated him the 24th greatest villain of all time. Also, in 2009, Deathstroke was ranked as IGN's 32nd greatest comic book villain of all time. Originally the archenemy of the Teen Titans, writers have developed him over the years as an adversary of other heroes in the DC Universe. Parallels have been established between him and Batman, and he has a deep-seated grudge against Green Arrow. The character has been substantially adapted from the comics into multiple forms of media, including several Batman related projects and the Teen Titans animated series. Slade Wilson/Deathstroke later appeared on The CW's live action TV series Arrow, where he is portrayed by Manu Bennett."

If you'd like to read more about Deathstroke - here you go. I'm not including his deeper bio here in case some of you want to discover him (and any studio changes) first in the movie.

We already know that Steppenwolf will be the main villain in JL, so all signs point to Deathstroke being a secondary attraction. Looks interesting and if I do say so myself an awesome adversary for Batman. They both do not have any super powers.

JUSTICE LEAGUE is slated for release on Nov 17, 2017.

AQUAMAN May Just Be The Savior Of The DC Cinematic Universe

Batman? Nolan's not directing. Superman? I like Cavill in the role but I'm not completely sold on Snyder's directing him. DC universe? I still haven't seen how they're bringing it all together and I'm worried.

I'll tell you one movie I'm NOT worried about - AQUAMAN. I think DC has swung for the fences and landed a perfect team and the cornerstone is James freakin' Wan. Warner Bros just confirmed that Wan is directing and supervising the script (being written by 300's Kurt Johnstad - another strong move) and I couldn't be more thrilled.

So we have Wan who is arguably the hottest director in Hollywood right now (Furious 7 will soon be 3rd all time behind Cameron's 1-2 punch of AVATAR and TITANIC) and he's prolific - something Cameron does not do (NO, I'm not saying he's better than Cameron. C'mon).

Add in the writing of the militaristic Johnstad (300, 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE, ACT OF VALOR) and you've got the solid backbone of a major hit already.

But now, add in the SOLID casting of Jason Momoa as AQUAMAN himself and the picture is complete. So while I'm standoffish regarding the DC cinematic universe, I'm all in for this movie. I think it will cornerstone the expansion of DC's plans much more so many think and may surprise even the top brass at Warners.

AQUAMAN is slated for a July 27, 2018 release.

It's JUSTICE LEAGUE Vs THE AVENGERS 2!! Huge Faceoff In '15!!!

Summer releases? Could be! Warner Bros. is planning on unleashing their dark and mature JUSTICE LEAGUE in 2015 which just so happens to be Marvel's planned THE AVENGERS 2 release year.

Think this is a minor deal? Think again. THE AVENGERS made $1.5 BILLION at the bank thus far and are now cashing in on disc sales heading into Black Friday territory and Christmas. Christopher Nolan is producing Zack Snyder's MAN OF STEEL as well as relishing in the success of this summer's THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Think there isn't any bad taste in Joss Whedon's mouth after Pfister ridiculous comments recently?

So why isn't Nolan taking part in this battle of cinematic proportions? Perhaps it's because Warner Bros. really needs JUSTICE LEAGUE to be in 3D and the Nolan/Pfister combo can't quite bite into it. Yet. I can't imagine WB allowing JUSTICE LEAGUE to suffer from a 2D only release while THE AVENGERS 2 rakes in another one and a half billion dollars.

So who will WB bring in to helm the awesome emsemble? Not Ben Affleck apparently. So who? Regardless, 2015 looks to be a stellar year.




Source: LATimes

DC Comics Ready A "Dark And Mature" JUSTICE LEAGUE To Counter Marvel's THE AVENGERS

I don't know why DC Comics has denied having JUSTICE LEAGUE in development for so long. It doesn't make sense really. You WANT to build excitement for what should be one of the culminating comic book adaptations of all time - right up there with Marvel's THE AVENGERS, now the #3 movie of ALL TIME.

If you step back and envision an intelligent, dark and mature JUSTICE LEAGUE along the lines of THE DARK KNIGHT, and then throw in Batman (Bruce Wayne) of course, Superman (Kal-El / Clark Kent), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Flash (Barry Allen), Wonder Woman (Diana Prince), Aquaman (Orin / Arthur Curry) and Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz / John Jones) you could see how darn appealing it would be (original members listed here).

Now throw in Mark Millar's grapevine comments on the subject (he's a comic book writer - KICK-ASS, WANTED and ULTIMATE AVENGERS and a filmmaker) from his own website MillarWorld:

"A pal of mine is good friends with the new Justice League screenwriter and said his take on the team is incredible. Very real-world and not at all what you might expect. WB has a chequered history with their superhero characters. They're great with their boy wizards, but less consistent with their DC stable. But my chum said that this could be a thing of beauty and has been in the works for a little while now, not just an avengers knock-off. Best of luck to them. The tidbits I heard sound quite dark and mature, which isn't what I expected. But word on Gangster Squad is great too so I feel this is in really good hands." http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/170953-warner-bros-makes-justice-league-plans

MM

PS Thanks for the sell-out on Supercrooks #3. 2nd printing on the way."

Voila. Dark and mature. That's music to my ears that Warner Bros. is stepping up to this thing in a big way. They had better. Marvel has been kicking. Their. Butts. And it won't be an AVENGERS knock off - very important. 

I am very concerned that the other major characters of the Justice League have not been rebooted in some fashion like Marvel has done very well for Cap and Thor. Where the heck is FLASH? He is such an iconic character and nothing! And if Marvel can effectively bring a theatrical Captain America front and center, then you would think that DC could overcome the memories of the TV version and reboot Wonder Woman. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the TV version when I was a kid, but it begs to be modernized. 

Nothing has been said about JUSTICE LEAGUE being a 3D movie but with the success of THE AVENGERS you KNOW it will be. In fact, they could further differentiate themselves from Marvel's sometimes comedic 3D conversion but not only having their ensemble movie dark and mature, but shoot it in native 3D as well. Hmmmm. Interesting.

You know what I really want? And I know it's pie in the sky, but imagine a Marvel vs. DC universe movie. THE AVENGERS VS. JUSTICE LEAGUE. With today's visual effects it's more than possible but it would be an intellectual property rights battle to share the spoils of that behemoth of a movie. But oh - it would be Hollywood at it's best would it not?

via CBM