MAN OF STEEL opens today (you can check out our reviews here and here) and how it performs in theaters will impact the future for not only the character in films but also if JUSTICE LEAGUE will actually happen. That's a lot of pressure on the big three names that helped bring Superman back to the big screen: producer Christopher Nolan, director Zack Snyder and writer David Goyer.
Hey U Guys recently interviewed David Goyer and obviously a lot of the talk was about MAN OF STEEL, JUSTICE LEAGUE and DC's plans for other films. It's been rumored that Goyer is being looked at to write and/or direct MAN OF STEEL but when it was brought up in the interview he laughed it off and denied it.
It was not reported…! I did not definitely say that.
But Goyer must have talked to Snyder and Nolan about JUSTICE LEAGUE a little, right? Especially since Batman is obviously a part of the group and Nolan directed the last three movies with the character. Goyer reveals that they have had some conversations and that if JUSTICE LEAGUE was to happen it would not have Nolan's Batman in it.
It would be disingenuous to say Warner Bros doesn’t hope that this would be the starting point for a shared universe. And Zack has said that Bruce Wayne exists in this universe. It would be a different Bruce Wayne from Chris’ [Nolan] Dark Knight trilogy, and it would be disingenuous to say that Zack and I haven’t had various conversations on set, around ‘what if’ and ‘moving forward’.
That having been said, it’s all going to depend on the next few weeks. Warner Bros has hopes that there will be more Man Of Steel films, and that this will be the beginning of a shared universe. We could meet Batman, or Wonder Woman, or the Justice League in these movies. But they all hinge on box office reception.
If that happens, I would be happy, and nervous, to dive in.
David Goyer also said that if JUSTICE LEAGUE does get the green light it will not use the current script written by Will Beal and "it would be a blank slate." Goyer once again reiterates though that all of this depends on the how well MAN OF STEEL does at the box office and if that movie can perform as well as Nolan's Dark Knight series then there's a very good chance we could see more characters in the future.
They’re hoping that the film does well, but God forbid it doesn’t, things will change. I don’t know how many different iterations of Justice League they’ve tried to mount over the last decade or so. But for one reason or another they haven’t happened. I think Warner Bros has seen – and Chris deserves the biggest credit for this – that we were able to revitalize Batman and put it into the first billion dollar superhero film. And they’re hoping that Superman will be revitalized as well. And if we can do Batman and Superman, then maybe we can move on to Wonder Woman, and The Flash, and characters like that.
I had no problem with Christian Bale as Batman but I do think they need to start fresh. Keep the Nolan trilogy as a stand alone series. I feel like with Nolan's (semi) realistic take on the character and the world he lives in it would be odd seeing him now fighting with/against some characters that are pretty much Gods.
While it does look like JUSTICE LEAGUE has a better shot of happening now than it ever has before it does really depend on MAN OF STEEL. We bitch at a lot of studios for rushing sequels, prequels, etc. into theaters but I'm glad they're going with a wait and see approach for JUSTICE LEAGUE for now. Warner Bros. and DC know that Marvel is ahead of them when it comes to films and they are very aware that they could fall further behind if there is a setback as they try to move forwards with their cinematic universe.
Bottom-line: if you want JUSTICE LEAGUE you're going to have to let the studios know with your wallet by going to see MAN OF STEEL.
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