Of the many interesting things people may have forgotten is that had the WB completed a Justice League film; it would have been released next year. Unfortunately, the film was canceled in April 2008.
The film was well into pre-production with costumes, the cast, and scouted filming locations.
Jay Baruchel (“The Sorcerer's Apprentice”) was one of the many actors cast for the film, he would have played the villainous Maxwell Lord. In fact, his co-star on 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' Terese Palmer had also been cast as Talia al Ghul.
Here is an interview Digital Spy had with Baruchel relative to the dead film:
Digital Spy: You were going to work with Teresa Palmer a while ago on a Justice League movie?
Jay Baruchel: "It's weird talking about it because the blogosphere was not very kind to us - they're looking for anything to s**t on! The two of us were going to do that, it sounds really strange out of context, had you read the script it would have made perfect sense."
Digital Spy: Do you think it would have won around the blogosphere?
Jay Baruchel: "I'll just say this, if we had been able to make the movie that we had gone down [to Australia] to rehearse, if you had seen the production art I'd seen... it would've been the coolest thing ever. It would have been the neatest vision of Batman and the coolest vision of Superman you've ever seen. It would have been dark and fairly brutal and quite gory and just f**king epic."
Digital Spy: What was the problem?
Jay Baruchel: "The problem was that, had it gone to production, it would have been the single most expensive movie in the history of movies. Sometimes people are reticent to spend upwards of $300 million. It was a fun two weeks in Sydney and I got to hang out with one of my idols, George Miller."
Digital Spy: Did you get as far as seeing the Justice League heroes in costume?
Jay Baruchel: "I did. My friends, who were training to be Batman and Superman, they were down there for three months training and going to Weta in New Zealand to get their costumes. Weta, which is arguably the greatest special effects house on Earth, they had to cancel everything else. They were doing nothing but our movie. It was going to be f**king dope!"
Digital Spy: What else did you see?
Jay Baruchel: "They had everything there; maquettes, pre-visualisation, absolutely everything and we had assembled this neat cast. The rehearsal process was so strange and so unconventional and, I know it sounds hard to believe, but I assure you it would have been something f**king awesome!"
It sounds to me like Jay Baruchel might be a little delusional when it comes to this film. I can believe it would have bee awesome but casting teenagers and interfering with Nolan's Batman, really? I (and many of you) will pass on that.
'Justice League: Mortal' would have been released in 2011 with George Miller as a director, and the cast WOULD have been D.J. Cotrona (Superman), Armie Hammer (Batman), Megan Gale (Wonder Woman), Common (Green Lantern), Adam Brody (The Flash), Hugh Keays-Byrne (The Martian Manhunter), Santiago Cabrera (Aquaman), Jay Baruchel (Maxwell Lord), and Teresa Palmer (Talia al Ghul).