It's a funny thing talking about Justice League: Mortal, the abandoned project that almost led to a premature cinematic outing for the JLA. The reason it's so funny is that I can't really remember hearing much hype about it, even here. True, we all hated the idea and wanted it to fail, but still, I don't recall a large number of articles being published whenever someone was cast, or even any hype trying to be generated.
I mean, whether people generally liked the idea or not, we had a new Superman and Batman cast! We even had Wonder Woman! And I guess it was totally legit! We actually had a live action cast for these heroes. And yet, I don't remember these as big announcements here. Maybe I'm not remembering it the right way, but the cast of the film didn't seem to get much attention. It just seemed to be a fact, something that was referenced when talking about other things regarding the film, which I think is how I found out about a good portion of the cast even being in it!
You would think something that big would be big news, published in the mainstream newspaper or mentioned on the news, but I can't remember hearing anything about it. Is it just me? Am I remembering these events wrong, or do others find it strange the lack of hype such things created?
Was it just that the project itself seemed like such a joke, that we wanted so bad for it not to happen, that we intentionally paid it no heed? I certainly remember I wasn't expecting it to see the light of day, and when there was an announcement, I seem to remember other commenters sharing the same sentiment. Usually, when the cast comes together, that's when filming is set in stone, but I remember, even as the cast came together, I, and others, still didn't really expect it to happen. I also recall that even though they had the actors, filming itself kept getting delayed and delayed until the film was finally cancelled.
But when we look at the reality of the situation, how close did we really come to seeing this version of the league on the screen? Here's what we know. The script was written by the husband-and-wife team of Kieran (brother of Dermot) and Michelle Mulroney, and was to be helmed by "Mad Max" director George Miller. They were fully willing to cast a new Superman and Batman, despite of Superman Returns, and the fact that Chris Nolan's Batman series was still going on simultaneously. The cast for the film went as follows:
D.J. Cotrona as Clark Kent / Superman
Is it just me, or is he Latino?
Armie Hammer as Bruce Wayne / Batman
Armie Hammer? That's really his name? That's just asking for all the baking soda jokes you can ever dream of!
Megan Gale as Diana of Themyscira / Wonder Woman
Common as John Stewart / Green Lantern
Hugh Keays-Byrne as J'Onn J'Onzz / Martian Manhunter
And here's where I get confused. Apparently, there was news of both Adam Brody and Anton Yelchin being cast. I have read on the net that one or the other was cast as Wally West / The Flash.
So which is it? Were they both cast, at separate times, after one dropped out? Were they actually both in the movie, or one had a different role? Why can't I find the answers to these questions by looking up a simple article on the web? See what I mean? I wouldn't expect this of a comic book movie. Usually, if a major superhero is cast, it's a big announcement, and there isn't generally confusion like this.
At any rate, also cast in the film was one villain...
Teresa Palmer as Talia al Ghul
There's one more thing. Apparently, and I never even heard about this when the film was actually happening, there was talk of Jay Baruchel possibly playing the villain in the film? Really? This guy?
Must have been one hell of a geeky villain.
At any rate, the movie was set to film in Australia, but, as I said, was eventually cancelled, apparently due to the protestations of the fans at the idea. DC then directed it's efforts to making solo movies that would link up, a la Marvel. And they still haven't gotten around to actually doing that yet.
Whatever the outcome, apparently the film got pretty far along. According to statements from Armie Hammer, he had actually been fitted for his costume. Now THAT intrigues me! They already had the costumes designed? I want to see those!I want to know if they went the Nolan route on Batman, or put him in spandex. I want to see all the costumes that were supposedly going to hit the screen.
Actually, I want to see all sorts of stuff from this film! The costumes, the concept art, maybe even storyboards! Since the film's not gonna happen now, I'd be really glad if Warner Bros. released this stuff! And of course, what would be really interesting would be to see the script.
However, is it possible that Warner Bros. is still planning on using this same script for when and if they make the actual Justice League movie? It would have to be tweaked, obviously, since, for instance, Green Lantern's now going to be Hal Jordan. But could this still be the Justice League script we see on screen? Not only that, but, since they're making the solo movies now, could these actors, like Miss Gale, be the ones being considered for said roles? You tell me.
If you read all that, you're a saint. Thanks a million! Now let me know what you think!
Slimy!