So the Justice League of America movie isn’t going to star Christian Bale or Brandon Routh. It’s not even going to be live action. That’s no reason to get down about the project though. There will still be a JLA movie, after all, and animation gives it lots of room for excellent opportunities. IESB has uncovered one of those opportunities, and though they’ve been called on their rumor, they are standing by it.
Let’s remember, Routh isn’t the only actor alive who’s played Superman. I can think of four more off the top of my head: Dean Cain (Adventures of Lois and Clark), Tom Welling (Smallville), Tim Daly (Superman: The Animated Series), and Adam Baldwin (the upcoming Superman: Doomsday). That doesn’t even include Daly’s replacement on the animated shows. Sure enough, according to the rumor, one of those four actors will play Superman in the JLA movie.
For those who have been waiting to see Clark Kent move from Superboy to Superman, here’s your chance. According to the rumor, Tom Welling will be taking a break from Smallville to take on the part of Superman in the JLA flick. The suggestion is that either Smallville will go on a planned hiatus or the focus for the show will briefly change to Kara (aka Supergirl), who is an addition to the series this year.
Along with that Superman casting rumor, some more details about the motion capture element of the movie have come out. Apparently motion capture won’t be used for all of the film, just in select areas, such as underwater sequences. The rest of the film will be traditional animation. Of course, that means there’s no guarantee the JLA Superman will look like the actor portraying him, but it’s still a possibility.
For additional casting, IESB claims to be putting a little more research into the news they have on Batman before revealing it. I’m also standing by my prediction of Ryan Reynolds voicing The Flash as well, considering his coy “it’s not happening but somehow I’m playing the character” answers in interviews last week.
Personally, I’m a lot more interested in seeing a Justice League movie as an animated film on the big screen. There’s just so much more they can get away with. And let’s be completely honest here: while this casting is exciting, it’s not likely to make or break the movie. These characters and stories are far too iconic to be spoiled by vocal casting, especially if it’s true the movie will be more traditional animation.
