2017’s Justice League showcased an intended vision for an interconnected universe for the DCEU, but its negative reception completely changed its future slate. Ben Affleck’s Batman took his exit, Henry Cavill’s Superman has been put on hold (maybe indefinitely). Only Wonder Woman and Aquaman have sustained their presence thus far as solo origin projects have reigned over more DC team ups.
Back when, Mission: Impossible - Fallout writer/director Christopher McQuarrie has now revealed on his Twitter that he pitched out to Warner Bros Man of Steel sequel and Green Lantern movies that tied together and it was rejected. Check out what he said:
The conversation began when one fan pointed out an DC upcoming project Christopher McQuarrie was attached to on IMDB called The Prisoner. The filmmaker shot down the report, explaining he’d been attached many years ago but was fired before he could begin the screenwriting process. It stemmed another user to ask about past word that he was being eyed for Green Lantern Corps.
Christopher McQuarrie then revealed that he did have a Green Lantern project in mind that connected to a Man of Steel project he and Henry Cavill had pitched together, but neither caught the interest of the studio. He then called out Warner Bros for not caring for his “original ideas” and taking on their “broken ones” instead.
This sparked more questions from fans, one Twitter user asking how far along his idea was and Christopher McQuarrie responding with more specifics:
Oh what could have been! This is pretty crazy news to learn from a filmmaker as respected as Christopher McQuarrie. Along with his recent Mission: Impossible - Fallout success which earned critical acclaim and $791 million in worldwide earnings, he is now helming Mission Impossible 7 & 8 for summer 2021 and 2022. The writer/director also worked on Edge of Tomorrow, Jack Reacher, and The Usual Suspects.
Apparently, they just ghosted the director on his Man of Steel 2 idea too! Check out another one of McQuarrie’s Twitter replies:
Christopher McQuarrie was burned so bad by the studio that he is not interested in working with them on a DC project and has moved on with other ideas. How cool would have it been if he was given the chance to bring back Cavill’s Superman back to the big screen and adapt the Green Lantern?
Rumors of his frequent collaborator Tom Cruise playing Hal Jordan have surfaced before and it’s not tough to imagine them working together for the scrapped Green Lantern project.
Right now the futures of Superman and Green Lantern on the big screen are at a standstill as a new Batman played by Robert Pattinson and The Suicide Squad from James Gunn are soon entering production. Perhaps this is what he means by broken ideas? We’ve seen a ton of Batman movies over the years and Suicide Squad back in 2016.
DC is shaking it up a bit with Todd Phillips’ Joker this October and Birds of Prey in February 2020. But would you have liked to see a McQuarrie Man of Steel or Green Lantern? Sound off in the comments!
