Their are rumors going around that the possible villain for the next Justice League film is going to be Darkseid. This is most likely because The Avengers are going the more cosmic route. The fact is, DC and Warner Bros. needs to be different than Marvel with the Justice League. The last thing we need is a simple alien invasion plot. What we've seen from the Man of Steel, is a good representation of the type of direction the Justice League movie needs to take. The Avengers worked well being light and fantastical, but most people see DC as being grounded, dark, and Fantastical due to Nolan's Batman and now with Superman. DC should stay in that direction with the rest of their films.
Story: The major members of the Justice League are larger than life characters, representing different aspects of what a hero should be. The story should reflect on the characters and their goals. The premise of the film should be something like: Our world is the setting for mass crimes against society;where the likes of criminals and terrorists, pride among the helpless. To combat these threats are heroes from all walks of life, from our world and beyond, in order to bring Justice to all. These heroes are in a League of their own: The Brave and the Bold (pun intended).
Villain: An appropriate villain to suit the tone of this film should be Vandal Savage. Savage is a villain long over due for an on-screen appearance, and as much as Darkseid too is in need of this treatment, Darkseid needs to be build up. Vandal Savage is the right choice because filmmakers will be working with a character of the complexity of a HUMAN tyrant, where his motives can be compared to histories greatest conquerors. Despite the fact he is immortal, he is very much a realistic character, personality wise. In the film, his immortality can be kept secret until the end of film, while the film slowly progress its more fantasy like elements.
Plot: The plot can involve Vandal Savage taking hostage the United Nations, and controlling the worlds military defenses. A key element of the type of military threat that can be used is alien technology. To balance reality and other worldly features in the film, the alien tech needs to be scale down. In Young Justice, Starro was used as a mind control device. the technology can be used in a way to control people, and advance the technology of military weapons.
One of the military products can be a mechanical leviathan like weapon with tentacles. This can be used as homage to the first appearance of the Justice League in The Brave of the Bold issue #28, as part of a major action sequence.
(Note: Lex Luthor can be a behind the scene villain, producing the weapons for Savage.)
Themes: To keep the grounded reality of the film, the type of themes that should be addressed in the film are :A hero can be anyone, terrorist threat on the homeland, and mainly the theme of Justice and Trust.
League Members: The heroes in the film has as much of an affect on the tone of the film as its story. Due to the fact that Warner brothers plans on releasing a JL film in 2015, all the character needs to have a strong screen presence.
Roll Call:
Superman- He should be portrayed like the person people still needs time to trust. He knows he pose as a possible threat,but he still plans to help people. Knowing this, he understands he needs help doing so.
Batman- Pretty much, everyone knows his character. In this film, Batman realizes that different beings are present in the world, and that Gotham is not only place that needs saving. Batman also does not trusts these new heroes, but knowingly he still needs their help.
Wonder Woman: A tricky character to portray on film apparently. For Wonder Woman, the film could portray her as woman from an uncharted land who travels the world for a new life, but because the occurring threat she knows she needs to save this world as well. Her history should be unknown until she have her own movie, if Warner Brothers plans to have her appear in this one first. She would still have her strengths and her lasso/tiara, but her outfit needs to be changed for the better of the film.
Flash: Another tricky character. I guess he should be portrayed as though he exists in this world of new heroes. His personality should stay the same and his character should how they portray him in the JL animated series.
Green Lantern: He has the benefit to have his own cartoon series currently present on Cartoon Network and a theatrical film(that pained at the box office and audience/critics alike). The reason Green Lantern would be in the film is that Guardians of the Universe detect a form of alien threat on Earth(Starro tech) and sends him to investigate it. I don't know which green lantern to use(or flash for that matter). Hal Jordan is good because he is featured in the TV series and the film, but John Stewart was featured in the actual JL TV series and Young justice.
Martian Manhunter: Personally I would not have Martian be in his hero form. I would have him in his John Jonzz human form. If they are not going to have John Stewart for diversity, than keep John Jonzz African American. There have to be some sort of color diversity in the film. Also for Manhunter, he will not be in the team. He will be a supporting character as a detective, and be used as a plot element for future installments.
Aquaman: I think Aquaman would be used differently than the other characters. I would have being mentioned in different ways through dialogue, before making his appearance. Wonder Woman would be the person who would mention Aquaman to the group, but not directly. I would have Aquaman be a secret character who appears near the climax of the film during the final battle(similar to his first appearance in Justice League in the New 52).
The whole point of the film is to have the audience recognize the characters and the world around them. The film slowly progress as the world becomes larger as it establishes an entire Universe of its own. Agree with me or not, but the main idea still stands. DC needs to have their Justice League film different as possible than Marvel's The Avengers. the film should have a complex but not complicated plot to go by and the characters should stand out on their own.