JLA is CGI? OMG, WTF!

The fansite community has been animated lately with random hypotheses about the proposed JUSTICE LEAGUE movie (further fed by recent statements from Christian Bale and Ryan Reynolds). But here’s a bizarre (Bizarro?) new wrinkle in the space-time continuum: will the gathering of beloved superheroes (and Aquaman) be computer-generated?

That’s the latest rumor from the grapevine-munchers at IESB, who claim that the JLA movie that Warner Bros. is hurrying into the pipe is actually going through countless high-speed processors before arriving in theaters. The gossip is that the movie will utilize the same (reasonably) realistic “performance capture” technique as THE POLAR EXPRESS and WB’s own impending BEOWULF feature.

Some of that math adds up — George Miller is the name commonly dropped for directing duties, and he has action experience (THE ROAD WARRIOR) as well as CGI (HAPPY FEET). The accelerated prep time-frame due to strike panic wouldn’t affect it as much, since the vast majority of the movie would consist of post-production digital rendering. It would make sense that Bale and Brandon Routh would not be portraying their costumed counterparts, as has been stated or speculated. And without casting (or re-casting) any roles with actual human flesh, future solo sequels (BATMAN, SUPERMAN) franchises such as WONDER WOMAN and THE FLASH remain relatively unaffected.

However, here’s where you can pour on the sodium. Warners supposedly wanted the movie as their 2009 summer tentpole, and the animation process would likely shove that date deep into the next year. And while it could potentially allow for more visual zowie, the format is still essentially unproven from a box office perspective (POLAR EXPRESS made bank, but so does a lot of holiday-themed garbage). Or the rumor could have some truth but was misconstrued or mangled — it’s possible the movie could be live-action but just have certain characters that will use the process Gollum-style.

At this point, facts are harder to find than Booster Gold fans, so we’ll see what shakes out. Let’s just hope it turns out better than that JUSTICE LEAGUE television pilot from a few years back.