If it’s as good as BABE we’re on board:
200709210145

Warner Bros. is moving aggressively ahead with the bigscreen adaptation of DC Comics’ “Justice League of America,” with George Miller aboard to direct.

Project, which is in the initial phases of casting, is a pre-strike priority for the studio, which needs a superhero tentpole for 2009.

Still, making all the pieces fit has been complicated by overlapping superhero projects in the pipeline, since “Justice League” features a pantheon of superheroes including Superman and Batman.


According to the article Christian Bale and Brandon Routh are unlikely to reprise their roles as Batman and Superman, respectively. However, Warners is eager to use the movie as a yardapult to blast the Flash and Wonder Woman to movie prominence.

22 COMMENTS

  2. Miller should do a Robert Rodriguez and have Mel Gibson as “special guest director”. He’d put a hurtin’ on Superman that would actually be compelling.

  4. I think that it’s a good thing that Bale and Routh aren’t in it. Their movies were made for people who don’t like Batman and Superman. You can’t dance around superheroics with the whole JLA up on screen. If they try to find a way to in this movie, they have no place on the set of any comic book movie.

  5. To the Beat:

    You knew you were going to put our hearts in our throats when you wrote “Miller to Direct JLA,” didn’t you? I thought…
    Frank Miller?
    Do I want a blood drenched JLA? With Black Canary as a hooker?
    AAAAAAHHHH!!! My eyes!!!

    Then it was George Miller.
    Who is George Miller. I dunno. But he’s better than Frank Miller. For this.
    I love Frank Miller. I really, really do.
    But not for the JLA. Please, God, not the JLA.

    In other news…
    a superhero movie for superhero fans.
    Go team bright colors!

    BradyDale

  7. I am totally making a guess here, no proof or anything (hey, I am on the internet!) , but I think they’ll look at how well Beowulf does before completely committing to live action rather than mo-cap. However realistic, Mo-cap still had a “cartoon” sensibility that could make more acceptable for the general public to have different actors playing batman and superman in back to back movies (dark knight, JLA, third batman movie, etc).

  8. Wow, didn’t expect a “yardapult” reference today.

    Miller’s track record is spotty enough that I’ll take a wait-and-see attitude on this one, but he does occasionally hit one out of the park (people really seemed to like “Happy Feet,” which, based solely on the trailers, seemed improbable to me, but who knows, maybe he’s in a groove). Also, I’d much rather just have a Flash solo film, really.

  9. I can’t believe the man who directed The Road Warrior, Mad Max and Babe is being dissed here! He’s in the three lasting movie directors club fer shure. I rather enjoyed THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK as well.

  10. As long as we’re judging by trailers, Justice League will be a ‘riproaring adventure of the…classic kind’ , someone will mention four stars, an Oregon radio station will heartily enjoy, and someone will raise a thumb.

    I’m excited!

    Chris Walken as Starro.

  11. Come on Heidi, you know if Jesus Christ returned to earth to produce this film and resurrected Shakespeare to write the screenplay, Orson Welles to direct, Leonardo DaVinci to art direct, and Beethoven to write the score, people would diss that creative team.

  12. Woah, Beatster! Sorry!
    I looked at the main page on IMDB and didn’t see anything to get excited about. I’m not IMDB savvy enough to see that I should have plummed the depths a little further.
    You’re right. Those are some good nods.
    OK, OK, you win.

  13. Brady, it’s okay. I have heard it said that BABE; PIG IN THE CITY is a great masterpiece also, but have never seen it and cannot judge myself.

  14. No one should diss “Happy Feet” either. If anybody thinks it’s only about happy dancing penguins, then they haven’t seen it. There are scenes in there that still give me goose pimples…

  16. Hey, the George Miller who directed “The Man From Snowy River” is still alive and working, too!

    Actually, come to think of it, either George Miller could do a good job with JLA. Very different jobs, maybe, but both potentially good…

    kdb

  17. George Miller the comedian would have been good, too, but he’s dead.

    I think it’s amusing that Christian Bale and Brandon Routh are mentioned as not reprising their signature super-duper roles as if both of them are just as busy working elsewhere. I’m imagining Routh reading it and go, “What? Damn it…”

  18. Tom —

    Routh’s got two movies in post-production and one in pre-production, according to IMdB. Bale’s in one movie currently filming and attached to one that’s pretty early in development.

    Seems like they’re similarly busy — though their not appearing in a JLA movie could as easily have to do with (a) Warners not wanting to tie the roles to one actor who can then demand more money or (b) neither of them wanting to get typecast as it does with schedule. Bale in particular seems not to want to be in a movie that to non-comics eyes is pretty easy to see as the superhero version of “Frankentein Meets the Wolfman.”

    kdb

  19. Well, if the JLA movie is like the original stories then Batman and Superman would only have cameo roles anyway.

    Maybe if the caliber of the story were good enough, Bale (and Routh) might reconsider. Maybe Warner could approach someone like William Goldman since he’s a comics fan and might stay true to the original material. Anyone else people would offer to Warner?

    Maybe they could stay away from Akiva whats-his-name and that Blade guy.

    How about Harlan Ellison?

  20. …also maybe if Warner sold it as more like “The Seven Samurai” or “The Magnificent Seven” than “Frankenstein meets the Wolfman” they might create more goodwill.

Comments are closed.