This week, a new rumor concerning Warner Bros.'
Justice League movie suggested that screenwriter Will Beall's for the DC Comics superhero ensemble was so terrible that it was scrapped, and the studio wasn't even sure about moving forward with the project. The idea of hiring a new writer after the disappointing response to
Gangster Squad certainly isn't surprising. This, plus the lack of a director and the decision to wait and see how
Man Of Steel does this summer before giving a green light, makes the previously reported 2015 release very unlikely. Many fans have expressed desires to see other DC characters, such as Wonder Woman and The Flash, get their own movies before Justice League, and with the film probably being delayed, it's possible to squeeze in at least one more movie before answering
Marvel's The Avengers. My personal pick? None other than a
World's Finest Batman/Superman team-up film.
Why would this be the best movie to lead into
Justice League? Assuming that
Man Of Steel is a big hit at the box office, WB will want to release a sequel sooner rather than later. In fact, it has been said repeatedly that the studio hopes that the Henry Cavill-starrer will launch a new franchise for them.
World's Finest can easily continue Superman's story from Zack Snyder's reboot without the weight of four to five (or more) other superheroes', and it can also be used to introduce the new Batman. Introducing a brand new take on the Caped Crusader alongside just about every other Justice League member in the ensemble would be a very difficult task, but debuting him in a team-up film with Superman would serve a much better introduction. Plus,
World's Finest could serve that task without the need for yet another solo Batman film in the near future. Also, assuming that
Man Of Steel will be more stand alone in terms of a DC Cinematic Universe,
World's Finest would expand its universe further into a wider DC world.
A Batman/Superman team-up would also be a safe venture for Warner Bros., as they haven't had much success with DC Comics adaptations beyond these two characters and are understandably hesitant to produce more. However, both Batman and Superman are guaranteed money makers (despite
Superman Returns underperforming back in 2006; however,
Man Of Steel should do much better), and with the former starring in two $1B+ films, having the world's two most iconic comic book characters in the same movie could be a massive box office smash. In fact, especially if word of mouth is great,
World's Finest would easily rival the success of
The Avengers.
Continuing on from its relation to
Justice League,
World's Finest would save it the burden of depicting at least Superman and Batman's first meeting. Having five to six (or more) heroes on screen is a tough act, and even more so if only one is a familiar face. Again,
World's Finest would introduce a new Batman that fans can warm up to by
JL, and having him and Superman knowing each other by the ensemble (similar to how in the DC Animated Universe, the two met before the
Justice League series) would certainly help the storyline.
Finally, I'd like to say that, unlike a
Green Lantern sequel or an
Aquaman movie, a
World's Finest film in the very near future could be within the realm of possibility. Why? Well, a
Batman Vs. Superman movie very nearly happened, with Wolfgang Petersen (
Troy) attached to direct. Planned to be a reboot of both superhero franchises, the film was suddenly scrapped when WB decided to focus on individual films instead, which led to 2005's
Batman Begins and 2006's
Superman Returns. The fact that such a film nearly happened may cause the studio to consider it again. In fact, it was rumored back in 2011 that a Batman/Superman film was quietly being developed, but we have heard nothing since.
In conclusion,
World's Finest would arguably be the most ideal bridge between
Man Of Steel and
Justice League. Not only could it serve as a direct follow-up to the former, it can also further ground a wider DC Universe and do a much better job at building up to the latter. Plus, if
MOS builds up a lot of hype, WB surely wouldn't want it to have potentially died out by 2016/2017 (or whenever
JL releases). Enter
World's Finest.