Find out what the film “Justice League” was written in 2011 and which Warner decided to put on hold to finance Zack Snyder’s version.
Quick background
In 2011, screenwriter Will Beall, who had just finished the screenplay for the thriller Gangster Squad, was hired to write a script around the Justice League, the superhero team from DC Comics. Marvel will release Avengers in 2012, and Warner feels it’s also about time Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and their friends come together in a single epic feature film.
It’s a time when at DC, Zack Snyder is preparing Man of Steel, Christopher Nolan is filming The Dark Knight Rises, and George Miller has just had Justice League: Mortal canceled.
What did it say?
Viewed by The Wrap in 2017, the film opens according to them with an action sequence in which, on Darkseid’s orders, his faithful DeSaad kills Killer Croc and steals Kryptonite from Lex Luthor.
In space, Green Lantern and Hawkman confront DeSaad, who attempts to weaponize Kryptonite.
Warner Bros. Animation Darkseid
Superman is kidnapped by Steppenwolf on behalf of Darkseid and the Green Lantern Corps (Green Lantern’s team) is decimated.
Previously leaving to recruit Flash in Central City, Batman leaves for Themyscira to call Wonder Woman for help. They find themselves with Green Lantern in the Batcave filled with weapons and items from the Dark Knight’s famous villains.
Warner Bros. Animation
Green Lantern
Darkseid invades Earth, allied with a Superman completely under his domination. Wonder Woman manages to get him out and the Man of Steel once again joins forces with the rest of the League to repel the invader.
Big moment of fan service: Batman travels to the future, where Darkseid has massacred the majority of Humanity and where the resistance is led by Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor from Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Batman creates a team bringing together Captain Boomerang, Huntress or Deathstroke, usual members of the Suicide Squad.
Warner Bros. Animation
Flash in “Justice Society: World War II”
Flash travels to the past, before Darkseid’s invasion, and warns his “younger self” of the coming attack. This allows the Justice League to prevent Superman’s mental domination and fight Darkseid right at home on the planet Apokolips.
The battle is won by the superheroes, and the film ends with Lex Luthor receiving a visit from Lex Luthor from the future revealing Superman’s true identity.
Who should play Justice League?
Warner Bros. Animation
At the time the script was completed, Superman was played by Henry Cavill in Zack Snyder’s film, but Batman probably wouldn’t have been Christian Bale, who left after his third Bruce Wayne adventure for Christopher Nolan. Everything had to be done in terms of casting, but the project was never far enough along for that. However, rumors mentioned that Warner wanted to have Ben Affleck direct – but at the time not yet as Batman.
Why didn’t it happen?
Warner Bros. Animation
Despite the good reception of the script by Warner, which earned Will Beall an offer to write two films, his Justice League script was left aside in favor of Zack Snyder’s multi-film and connected vision, which came closer to the Marvel’s way of doing things.
We could quibble over whether a Justice League film should have seen the light of day on its own with characters already established or whether it was better to install the heroes solo to better bring them together later in a joint film. The fact is that the connected DC universe has experienced setback after setback to end up no longer interesting anyone, as evidenced by the disappointing receipts of the last three films: The Flash, Blue Beetle and Aquaman 2.