Long before there was a DC film universe, Warner Bros. executives dreamed of a Justice
League movie.
In fact, plans to bring the original super friends together for a live-action outing
in theaters have been in various stages of development for more than a decade—and the
project has taken far more than its share of twists and turns along the way.
From a derailed production to problematic facial hair, here's the untold story of Justice
League.
Summon the League
George Miller, who's best known as the mastermind behind the Mad Max franchise, actually planned
to film a Justice League movie back in 2007— when it would've beaten Marvel's Avengers
to theaters by several years and potentially leveled the MCU-dominated Hollywood playing
field.
Unfortunately, the project, called Justice League: Mortal, was beset by a slew of problems,
including a writer's strike and an ongoing battle over where to film the movie.
In the end, the studio pulled the plug on the film and went back to the drawing board,
opting to launch their DC cinematic universe with 2013's Man of Steel instead.
Almost Affleck
For a brief window of time, Ben Affleck was a frontrunner to direct the Justice League
movie, and we can only imagine how drastically different the movie might've been if he had.
Affleck's award-winning films like Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo prove that he's got
the ability to write, direct, and star in movies that get raves from critics and audiences
alike.
And given the bumpy road the DC extended universe has faced with critics thus far, it isn't
hard to understand why the idea of a Justice League movie with some of Affleck's trademark
seriousness and grit might be appealing.
But the rumors turned out not to be true—
"Don't believe everything you hear, son."
— and that was only the start of the movie's directorial difficulties.
Enter: Joss Whedon
After Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice, Zack Snyder was supposed to direct Justice League,
as well.
But when a personal tragedy forced him to step away from the project, one friend was
ready to step in and save the day: Avengers director Joss Whedon.
With a little convincing from his buddy Zack, Whedon took the reins and saddled up to handle
his third massive superhero ensemble flick within the past five years.
And he didn't take the job lightly: Whedon went to town, making so many changes that
he earned himself a writer's credit for contributing more than thirty-three percent of the screenplay.
Over budget
With great rewrites come great responsibility—and a bigger budget.
Between the studio's notes and Whedon's retooled script, Justice League's supersized budget
required an extra $25 million for reshoots, not to mention an extra two months on the
set for all the actors involved.
It just goes to show that Warner Bros. wanted the movie to be the best it could — or at
least better than the last one.
The million-dollar mustache
Of all the time and money spent on reshoots, a significant percentage went into digitally
erasing Henry Cavill's mustache.
Cavill was already at work on a new film by the time the studio needed their Superman
back, and although producers managed to finagle a blockbuster timesharing deal, the actor
had to keep this magnificent cookie duster intact for his role on the next Mission Impossible
flick — which left it up to DC's digital wizards to remove it in post-production.
Funny on purpose
If you didn't love the dark tone of DC's previous movies, take heart—Justice League is reportedly
amping up the comedy after Batman v Superman took a critical pounding for being too serious.
As Zack Snyder put it:
"Because of what fans have said and how the movie was received by some … we have put
the screws to what we thought the tone would be."
Evidence of the change was already visible in the Justice League trailers, which suggest
that this is one superhero movie that's not afraid to poke fun at itself.
"What are your superpowers again?"
"I'm rich."
April Fools
After the release of Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros. started gearing up for pre-production
on Justice League in April 2016—only to have director Zack Snyder abruptly exit the
film entirely after throwing an epic, public temper tantrum.
The twist?
It was all an April Fool's Day gag — albeit one that's less funny in hindsight, since
Snyder actually did depart the film a year later after the tragic loss of his daughter.
There can be only one
When Warner Bros. initially unveiled its massive slate of DC movies, there were two Justice
League projects on the docket—one slated for 2017, with a sequel to come two years
later.
But after a tumultuous year for the DC Extended Universe, the studio changed its approach
to take things one film at a time.
Will we still end up getting a Justice League sequel?
Probably, but it'll happen the old-fashioned way—with an announcement issued after the
studio counts its cash.
The end of Batfleck?
Although he's denied it repeatedly, rumors continue to swirl that Ben Affleck is planning
to hang up his Batsuit.
It's not hard to see why he might want out of the DC universe—his first outing at Batman
took a critical drubbing, Justice League had a lot of hiccups on its way to theaters, and
the solo Batman movie that he was originally supposed to write, star in, and direct still
doesn't have a release date on the books.
Will Affleck pull off a Batman-style disappearing act in real life, creeping into the shadows
never to be seen again by the execs at WB?
"Oh wow, they really just vanished, Oh… that's rude."
For now, he claims he's happy to play the caped crusader.
We'll see how long that lasts.
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