There’s been lots of drama on sets of films shooting in the U.K. recently. The “Star Wars” film “Rogue One” has been in the press for all its reshooting, and the fact that two directors were brought on board to supervise the production. One film that hasn’t gone through any of the same strain is the DCU/Warner Bros’ film “Justice League,” at least not on the surface. But the polarizing “Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” which lost money for WB theatrically, was critically reviled and divided even the most hardcore fans. But as ‘BVS’ was essentially heading disappointment status for the studio, the language and face of the picture quickly changed.
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If anyone thought that Zack Snyder would continue to be the driving force of these films, that verbiage quickly disappeared after it was clear “Batman V. Superman” wouldn’t even gross what the much smaller super hero film “Deadpool” made at home. And then there was either an exodus or a major sea change of power that indicated big changes behind the scenes. Ben Affleck was made an executive producer, DC Comics creative head, Geoff Johns was appointed the head of the newly created DC Films and producer Charles Roven was given a euphemistic title for being demoted from day to day activities and “Flash” director Seth Grahame-Smith was shown the door. Change, change, change was in the air. In the middle of it all, Zack Snyder’s name barely mentioned.
But Snyder is directing “Justice League” because there was really no way for WB to course correct (“Justice League” started shooting right after the negative reaction to ‘BVS’). So while there haven’t been any problems reported from the set of “Justice League” the entire DCU needs a perception make-over to make fans forget the sour taste of ‘BVS.’ So journos were sent this week to London, where “Justice League” has been shooting, with the set visit embargo lifted less than one week later—an unheard of decision as set visit reports are typically not lifted until the movie is a few short months from release.
It’s a canny bit of PR triage, showing how concerned WB is about changing the narrative of the film even one year out. The solution? Glowing set visits and a treat for all fans—a… logo of the film. And the first look at the latest iteration of the Batmobile.
Otherwise, we’ve learned from the reports that contrary to earlier reports there’s no part one or part two to the movie, just a self-contained “Justice League” film (and then, inevitably, a sequel), and as with “Dawn Of Justice,” the film is being shot on 35mm (by “Game Of Thrones” cinematographer Fabian Wagner). Willem Dafoe will play Nuidis Vulko, an Atlantean friend and advisor to Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, and Amber Heard is still on board as Mera.
As had been strongly rumored before, the villain will be the relatively obscure Steppenwolf, who’ll be accompanied by Parademons, though Darkseid will also seemingly make an appearance. And the tone, unsurprisingly, is planned to be lighter. “We learned that people don’t like seeing their heroes deconstructed,” Deborah Snyder told Birth Movies Death, in the year that “Deadpool” became a surprise smash.
There’s lots of info scattered around various sites including the aforementioned Empire, Uproxx and Mashable to name but a few, and there’s even the umpteenth confirmation that Ben Affleck will indeed be directing a Batman movie, which will reportedly emphasize the ‘World’s Greatest Detective’ angle of the character for the first time.
“Justice League” does not hit theaters until fall 2017 (November 17), but you can see the logo and the film’s new Batmobile here, and read the full synopsis below.
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
