We have until 2017 before we’ll see the first part of the Justice League movie hit theaters, and apparently things are moving along well… in fact, a little too well. Why is this a problem? The latest rumor suggests that, like with Man of Steel, the script is the main issue with Justice League. Only this time around, it’s for the opposite reason.
While David Goyer’s script for Zack Snyder’s solo Superman movie was -- in my opinion -- underwhelming, the script for Justice League acts like Patton Oswalt’s Parks and Recreation Star Wars/Marvel/DC filibuster. In other words, it’s way too long and nobody except for geeks can understand what the hell is going on. This rumor comes from the folks over at Tech Times, and we should take it with a grain a salt for the time being. The film is still so early on in development that things are likely to change drastically. But at least one factor does line up with what we’ve previously heard of the film.
Now, this is a major SPOILER, but the outlet dropped the name of the villain that’ll be terrorizing the planet: Brainiac. This is not the first time we’ve heard this DC villain mentioned for Justice League, but Tech Times also reports that this first part is codenamed Brainiac’s Saga. In addition, the character’s identity in the film is rumored to be Vril Drox, which is the name of Brainiac in the New 52 comics.
If all these reports are to be believed, it’s natural for Warner Bros. to have this kind of problem (i.e. marketing their epic franchise to mainstream audiences). Christopher Nolan’s trilogy was an entity unto itself, but we had only just begun the DC cinematic universe when Man of Steel came out. Marvel is now deep into their MCU and is now in a nice groove with their films, but they had a few bumps in the beginning. The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 weren’t all that great, but the studio has grown so much from back then that they now have the power to transform even the most obscure characters into international sensations.
The WB should take a hint from their animated offerings. Those titles, like the Green Lantern series, Crisis on Two Earths and Assault on Arkham, are pretty entertaining. Or what about TV? Arrow and The Flash are killing it on The CW with more titles, like Supergirl and another Arrow spin-off, on the way. This is the arena that’s flourishing for them, and they should use their success here as inspiration to beef up the big screen.
For the two-part Justice League, it’s at least safe to say that we’ll be seeing Henry Cavill’s Superman, Ben Affleck’s Batman, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Ray Fisher’s Cyborg and Ezra Miller’s The Flash. But the WB still has to find its Green Lantern. After Ryan Reynolds’ subpar attempt, we’re interested to see how they can bounce back.
