>In 2007, Warner Bros Pictures was facing problems with their DC Comics adaptations. Although Christopher Nolan’s BATMAN BEGINS was a hit and its sequel, THE DARK KNIGHT, was in production, Bryan Singer’s SUPERMAN RETURNS underperformed both critically and commercially and its sequel was put on hold, while WONDER WOMAN and THE FLASH were in development hell following the departures of their respective directors, Joss Whedon and David Goyer. The studio then decided to capitalize on the popularity of the JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED animated series by greenlighting a live-action movie starring Christian Bale as Batman and Brandon Routh as Superman, which would also introduce Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash and Aquaman to the public ahead of prospective spin-off solo franchises.
>Several writers were invited to pitch their ideas before Kieran & Michelle Mulroney landed the coveted gig with a story treatment borrowing elements from two Batman-centric storylines, Mark Waid’s “Tower of Babel” and Greg Rucka’s “The O.M.A.C. Project”. The plot centered on an older Batman creating the spy-satellite Brother Eye to monitor Earth’s superheroes and elaborating countermeasures to disable them should they go rogue. When his plans are stolen by the O.M.A.C. Project, a rogue government program, Batman is forced to assemble the heroes he has betrayed – Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and The Flash - to save the world.
>The mastermind behind the conspiracy is Maxwell Lord, a powerful telepath who was abducted as a child by the O.M.A.C. Project and viciously experimented on alongside several others. Lord emerged as the sole survivor and managed to escape. Resenting the heroes for not coming to his rescue, Lord reinvents himself as a wealthy businessman and aligns with Talia Al Ghul, the vengeful daughter of Batman’s old enemy Ra’s Al Ghul, to seize control of the O.M.A.C. Project and its secret weapon, advanced cyborgs capable of adapting to whichever enemy they’re facing. When Talia uncovers Lord’s true plan to spread a nanotechnological virus that’ll turn the entire human race into a hive-mind controlled by him, she betrays him to the heroes at the cost of her life, and The Flash sacrifices himself to defeat Lord and his army, passing on his mantle to his nephew, Wally West. The heroes decide to remain united to defend mankind, forming the Justice League.
>The script was set in a “not too distant future” in which the heroes are all seasoned veterans who have achieved world peace, causing humanity to worship them as gods. Lord’s plan is to expose their mortality to the world, hence the proposed title - JUSTICE LEAGUE: MORTAL. And although Batman was the central character, it was the Flash, as the youngest and most unexperienced hero, who acted as the audience’s surrogate, and his sacrifice is what restores Batman’s faith in humanity. Wally, on the other hand, represents a next generation of heroes that will one day replace Batman, Superman and the others, and who proves himself worthy of The Flash’s legacy.
Jack Walker
>Batman kills Maxwell Lord Sup Forums would have chimped out either way.
Noah Perry
>As for team dynamics, Batman spends most of the movie at odds with the others, particularly Superman and Wonder Woman. Aquaman harbors an attraction to Wonder Woman and an intense dislike for the Flash, which eventually grows into begrudging respect. Flash and Wonder Woman also share an unspoken attraction. Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, however, ended up falling by the wayside, with the least amount of screen time and interactions.
>The movie was ambitious in scope, with notable setpieces including Wonder Woman and The Flash racing to restrain Martian Manhunter, whose powers were out of control due to Lord’s machinations; Lord brainwashing Superman into a vicious battle against the heroes across land, sea and space; and the final battle in which the Justice League battles Lord’s robot army in New York City.
>Barry Allen and Wally West are ironically the characters most different from their comic book counterparts. Barry is reinvented as a police detective and a jokester, while Wally is an introverted hacker still coming into his own. They also acquired their powers in the same laboratory accident.
Carter Nelson
>George Miller was tapped to direct the movie, which would be shot on Sidney, Australia in early 2008, with a $200 million budget and a prospective release date in 2009. Weta was responsible for the props and SFX. The Writers Guild of America was threatening to go on strike, and WB was determined to begin principal photography beforehand.
>Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds, who had been approached for Wonder Woman and The Flash in the standalone projects, were expected to sign on, while Laurence Fishburne was eyed to play the Martian Manhunter. However, Bale and Nolan objected to integrating their Batman to a world of superheroes, and WB decided to set JUSTICE LEAGUE in an “alternative universe”, which also provided them with a clean slate for Superman, as they were disappointed with Routh’s performance.
>Miller went against WB’s expectations for an all-star cast and decided to cast young unknowns that could grow into their roles over the course of a proposed trilogy. His Justice League was formed by Armie Hammer as Batman, D.J. Cotrona as Superman, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, Common as Green Lantern John Stewart, Santiago Cabrera as Aquaman and Adam Brody as The Flash. The Martian Manhunter would be brought to life through motion-capture technology by Hugh Keays-Byrne.
>Jay Baruchel and Teresa Palmer were slated to play the movie’s villains, Maxwell Lord and Talia Al Ghul, while the supporting cast featured Zoe Kazan as The Flash’s girlfriend, Iris West. Michael Gough was also approached to reprise his role as Alfred Pennyworth from Tim Burton’s and Joel Schumacher’s BATMAN movies.
Zachary Gray
>The actors were subjected to a rigorous physical and mental training to immerse themselves into the roles. Hammer met with psychiatrists to learn how to properly portray Batman’s paranoia. Brody practiced with physical therapists to portray The Flash’s twitchy mannerisms. Cabrera was sent to interact with marine lifeforms. The cast – particularly Hammer - was also forbidden from interacting with one another aside from Cabrera, so they’d naturally find him a comforting presence as Superman should be.
>The cast was already accommodated in Sidney, and props and sets – Including the team’s costumes and weapons - had already been built when Australia denied WB the previously accorded tax rebate, making the shoot much more expensive. Although shooting in Australia was one of the reasons Miller accepted WB’s offer in the first place, he begrudgingly agreed to move production to Canada.
>The delays caused WB to miss the deadline to the WGA strike, preventing the Mulroneys from conducting the required script revisions to change the heroes from seasoned veterans to young newcomers. The action scenes also needed to be scaled down to a more affordable level, and there were notable tonal clashes that also required attention.
Gavin Thomas
>Miller attempted to complete the rewrites himself, but his contributions were poorly-received by WB executives. By then, the budget had already swelled to an unprecedented $300 million before cameras had even started rolling. The studio attempted to cut costs by removing Aquaman and Martian Manhunter from the movie, but that caused even more script issues that they were uncapable of fixing.
>The project was also met with intense fan backlash over the youthful cast and the lack of continuity with Nolan’s and Singer’s movies. In a world before THE AVENGERS broke box office records, this was enough to convince executives that the project was doomed, and WB to pull the plug on JUSTICE LEAGUE: MORTAL in 2009.
>The cast was let go of their contracts, the sets were torn down, the props were stored and the extensive concept art and pre-viz animation was stored, never to see the light of day. And thus died a movie.
Ryan Lewis
I would like to watch this movie
Dominic Walker
>The studio attempted to cut costs by removing Aquaman and Martian Manhunter from the movie, but that caused even more script issues that they were uncapable of fixing. lol Martian Manhunter never not getting shafted
Josiah Watson
If I could wish for a movie I think I would use it to get Terry Gilliam's Watchmen, but I would pay to see Miller's Justice League.
Sorry I meant this isn't a thread for JUSTice league
Justin Moore
Yeah, this is a thread for JUST'd League!!
Zachary Reyes
>Aquaman harbors an attraction to Wonder Woman and an intense dislike for the Flash, which eventually grows into begrudging respect. Flash and Wonder Woman also share an unspoken attraction.
Aquacuck?
Blake Anderson
That casting sounds awful except for Hammer, Gale and Keays-Byrne. Jay Baruchel as Maxwell Lord could've kinda worked, depending on how he was written, and Teresa Palmer as Talia makes no sense if they were going with an Arabic Ra's, since she is about as white and blonde as they come.
That being said, this movie sounds way more interesting than what we got. It changes things up a little but in a good way and not a retarded way as the Snyderverse did.
Honestly, that sounds way more interesting than BM/WW or SM/WW.
Andrew Hernandez
>this movie sounds way more interesting than what we got That's what you say now that there's no chance of it being made, had it actually come out the bitching threads would be endless. I know you "people".
Parker Phillips
That's some damn fine work OP. Thank you for all the effort putting together this thread.
At the time this movie was cancelled I was cool with the decision because everything I heard made this movie sound like a shitty cash grab.
But with all the information you've presented I feel like we actually missed out on a decent movie.
Ayden James
Sounds better than Steppenwolf, at least.
Chase Morris
Megan Gale's wardrobe test for Wonder Woman.
Not the final costume.
Levi Hughes
Aquaman concept art.
Lincoln Hernandez
Martian Manhunter preliminary prosthetics.
Jeremiah Turner
Wonder Woman saving a car.
Brayden Torres
Wonder Woman visiting Themyscira.
Caleb Russell
I wanted to see this Adam Brody as The Flash, he said the wore the suit
David Ward
Wonder Woman visiting Themyscira.
Owen Wilson
Wonder Woman VS. Superman.
The whole sequence sounded pretty crazy.
>Aquaman tries to drown Superman, Superman boils the water surrounding them with heat vision.
>Green Lantern creates constructs of Superman to fight the real one, but Superman destroys them all.
>Wonder Woman grabs Superman by the hair and spins him around with enough force to fling him into the fucking Moon.
Joshua Lopez
It would have been overall mediocre, but better than anything Snyder has made.
