With the announcement of the Justice League movie release date set for summer 2015, the internet has been abuzz with opinions. Now it’s time for mine, because obviously it matters what I think. So first of all, as desperately as I want a Justice League movie, I am not excited about this announcement. I don’t trust Warner Brothers, or even DC really right now.

They seem to be running around doing things half cocked just to do things. And so many things they’ve done in their comics and across other media have been irksome. The New 52? Great in theory. Flimsy in execution. Pardon me while I go on a brief rantangent; In an attempt to streamline their universe and increase the popularity of their characters, they have shrunk it and desaturated it with a lot of what made it great. Character histories and personalities are being re-weritten without much faith to what has come before. Comic book fans (who are some of the most dedicated and particular fan bases in existance) want the characters we know and love to do new and exciting things. And I guess somehow to be new and exciting they decided that characters needed to be rebuilt from the bottom up. That’s no bueno. We want our characters and their mythology to stay intact and established, so that they can go off and do new things and grow, not so we can get to know this new character masquerading as someone we used to know (coughtimdrakecough).

Then there’s the issue of DC Nation. Though this seems to be more of a Cartoon Network problem, I’m really afraid we’ll see the pulling of YJ and GLTAS to be substituted with animation that is more in line with the New 52. Do not want. But that is just speculation. And of course we also have the lack of DC movie success so far. Superman Returns? Sucked. Green Lantern, though I didn’t hate it, it wasn’t a success. Jonah Hex? Another bomb. I’m really cautiously hopeful about Man of Steel but it might not even be tied into the JL movies anyway?

ANYWAY, what I want to see? An Animated Justice League movie. Yup. What does DC do better than almost anything else? Animation. The entire DCAU line, the animated movies, the other smaller shows like The Batman, Batman Brave and the Bold, Legion of Superheroes, and of course Young Justice and Green Lantern? All incredible. Why not capitalize on this?

Live Action is obviously a huge market. And it’d be awesome to see the Justice League brought to life on the big screen. The thing is, I don’t know if they can pull it off. Especially if they’re going to try to do it by 2015. I’m just nervous they’ll rush it.

So, why an animated movie? Because they’re good at it already and they could easily balance the line of kid appeal and adult appeal. Pixar movies are hugely popular, especially now that the kids who grew up with them (me) are becoming adults. They could also easily spin out into sequel films OR animated tv shows. Think about it, they’ve already built a cohesive animated universe before, so why not do it again on a larger scale? And let’s be honest, what Marvel did with its movies is exactly what the DCAU did with JLU.

The Creative Team:

Get Geoff Johns and Paul Dini to write the script. Get Bruce Timm and Alex Ross to work on character models and animation directing. Get Andrea Romano to voice cast.

Animation style? I’d be ok with a more classic Timm style, but they’re using the CG in GLTAS so I could totally get into a really cool pixar-y style or even a style reminiscent of the DCUO trailer.

The Line-Up:

My vote would be for Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter. I think most of those are all givens.

I’d love the see the Magnificent 7 classic line up. The tricky part is diversity. Before you groan, diversity is important. That’s why I’d be totally okay with John Stewart as the Green Lantern, even though I love Hal. I don’t want Cyborg in the league, I love Vic but I think he’ll always be a Titan to me. I think Aquaman could work in the movie, and I’d love to see him there, but I’d also think it’d be cool to see Hawkgirl, which would be reminiscent of the animated series. Martian Manhunter isn’t necessarily the most interesting character, but I think he could work, especially if his alter ego is black.

The Story:

The knee jerk reaction would obviously be Darkseid because he’s the DCU’s biggest bad and he’s in the New 52’s JL. But as much as I love Darkseid, I don’t think he’s a good pick for the first villain. I mean in JL: Origins he was really boring. He didn’t do much at all expect invade with Parademons and shoot some lazers.

I’d love to see a White Martian invasion like in the cartoon, I think it’s a great origin story. I don’t think the Appelaxians or Starro would really be intersting enough.

I think a Legion of Doom story ala Ross/Krueger’s Justice could be REALLY awesome! But that could work better for a sequel.

TLDR?

I want a Justice League animated movie. Really bad. But I don’t know if they’ll be able to do it. I think an animated movie would be a much smarter direction to go. But all I can do is just hope and hope that they can pull off this Justice League movie.

I've always thought that going animated may separate the DC movies from the Marvel movies. The only problem I have with this is that people probably won't take the DCU seriously (at least not as much as they would do with the Marvel Universe).

@SmashBrawler: Good point, it would definitely help set the two apart. What do you mean by not take it seriously?

@Mbecks14: If it's animated people will think it's a kiddie movie, no matter how mature you make it. It's a common misconception that comes from the fact that animated movies were meant for kids. So, as much as I'd love to see an animated DC Universe in the style of the DCUO trailers, WB will probably opt for the "serious" option.

White Martians would be my first choice as well, instead of having alien invasion, have alien infiltration, it'll set it apart from Avengers.

I'd go with the New 52 roster in the movie with MM doing his thing behind the scenes. The threat in the first movie would be "The Joining" (from "The Batman"). "The Joining" would be revamped as a.i. created by Slias Stone, T.O Morrow, Anthoy Ivo and Will Magnus that goes awry. This would prompt the reluctant Vic into aiding the other heroes in destroying it. MM's presence would be revealed at the end of the first movie, showing him musing over the new team of heroes and the upcoming threat of Darkseid, eventually coming to the conclusion that he will personally ensure that they are ready for it. This would lead to a series of sequels and solo movies that would eventually see an expanded League in a Final Crisis type situation with Batman and/or MM dieing to take Darkseid.

@SmashBrawler said:

@Mbecks14: If it's animated people will think it's a kiddie movie, no matter how mature you make it. It's a common misconception that comes from the fact that animated movies were meant for kids. So, as much as I'd love to see an animated DC Universe in the style of the DCUO trailers, WB will probably opt for the "serious" option.

I think it would depend on the type of animation style. I mean I think an overly serious tone would be a foolish way to go. And with the DC Animated Movies Timm has been producing they do a great job of appealing to both mature and younger viewers. But if they advertise it correctly they could definitely hit the mass appeal.

@The Stegman said:

White Martians would be my first choice as well, instead of having alien invasion, have alien infiltration, it'll set it apart from Avengers.

Great idea! The aliens already weaseling their way into earth via the animated origin could be a very smart way to go. And it could connect the Martian Manhunter into the line up and make him less of a Superman clone.

@Avenging-X-Bolt said:

I'd go with the New 52 roster in the movie with MM doing his thing behind the scenes. The threat in the first movie would be "The Joining" (from "The Batman"). "The Joining" would be revamped as a.i. created by Slias Stone, T.O Morrow, Anthoy Ivo and Will Magnus that goes awry. This would prompt the reluctant Vic into aiding the other heroes in destroying it. MM's presence would be revealed at the end of the first movie, showing him musing over the new team of heroes and the upcoming threat of Darkseid, eventually coming to the conclusion that he will personally ensure that they are ready for it. This would lead to a series of sequels and solo movies that would eventually see an expanded League in a Final Crisis type situation with Batman and/or MM dieing to take Darkseid.

Really? I don't think including Cyborg at all would be a good idea. Yeah it would connect to the New 52, but Cyborg has only been considered a leaguer in the past year. Since they'd want to appeal to a mass audicence, the most recognizable leaguers are the ones from the animated series and the original 7 (maybe minus J'onn). And Cyborg is too easily associated with the Teen Titans.

I think having J'onn in the movie without being in the league would just be too confusing for the casual viewer and the fans. If they're going to include him he needs to be in the League. I think Darkseid could work in a sequel, but he could also be too similar to Thanos. And killing Batman would be a ridiculous idea for the movies, Final Crisis is best left untouched.

I would not go the alien invasion route....its going to be too unfairly compared to Avengers (despite the alien invasion part not being the strong point of the film, not saying that as a great negative against it, just that the film was better at the team aspect than the invasion aspect) which it really shouldn't be but that's how the general audience and critics will see it. JL needs to stand out on its own and thus I would say not gravitate towards Darkseid or White Martians (or go the animated Justice League route with the alien race that also destroyed Mars). The other reason I wouldn't go with the White Martians is that they will be viewed as too much a copy of Superman to be a unique villain (especially since Man of Steel is set to have Zod be a central character). Though I do think a movie version of Martian Manhunter should lose his "superman-esque" abilities and focus solely on shapeshifting (which includes phasing and invisibility as its all molecular control), telekinesis, and telepathy (the last two not being earth as strong as his comic book counterpart but still greater than human equivalents). If they did that then the White Martians could be a viable threat if it was set-up as a mystery aspect to the film where the White Martians have infiltrated key positions on Earth to weaken its defenses (thus showcasing that all Martian's can shape-shift and have at least minimal telepathy but J'ohnn, being highly trained and experienced, is much more powerful than the average Martian) and launch the big invasion. That may make it not so close to Avengers.......but the last difficult element to get across would be their confinement in the Still Zone and whether it would be changed to something a bit more grounded.

Instead I think an interesting angle for a Justice League movie to take would be a loose following of the Cadmus/Amanda Waller storyline that ran through season 2 of Justice League Unlimited. As I stated in my topic thread "Stand alone films not necessary for success", it wouldn't be wise of DC/WB to make any of these characters appear brand new. The world this film inhabits (assuming its the same one as Man of Steel) should already know who all of these heroes are, even if they only just arrived on the scene. As such, governments and organizations have already been thinking of ways to combat a superhero threat should it arise. That's the starting premise behind the creation of Cadmus, who is funded through various shadow sources in producing anti-superhuman plans. This would allow the Waller to be part of the film as one of the leaders or at least a representative of the people backing Cadmus. Now putting a human-based, scientific organization as the antagonist opens up a wide range of villains to use as Cadmus scientists, but for my money the best one to choose would be Ivo and his current project, the Amazo androids. Rather than just one, multiple models are designed that are built to combat specific superhumans or similar threats. In a way, instead of a single machine I'm looking at the androids more like OMACs. The story could go a few ways at this point. You could have Ivo go crazy and take control of Cadmus, sending out the Amazo's against each member of the League, forcing them to join forces to defeat him. You could have a metahuman incident occur that initiates the deployment of Amazo's and as a result the League forms to stop them from hurting or capturing innocent civilians (sort of like Marvel's Sentinels indiscrimenantly targeting mutants and basically on the same premise Cadmus isn't truly affiliated with any government and so the movie wouldn't showcase the Justice League taking on the United States or anything like that). Or you could go a Skynet (had to plug in the Terminator reference)/Brother Eye route where the androids become a collective conscious (dipping a bit into the idea behind the Manhunters as well) and decide to begin eliminating metahumans for the good of mankind, starting with the heroes that will become the Justice League and forcing them to band together to defeat the threat.

Going that route you keep the Avenger and Justice League origin films as far removed from each other as possible and allow Justice League to stand on its own rather than be seen as a copy of Avengers. Plus, the Justice League has so many great villains the first film doesn't have to be limited to Darkseid, White Martians, or Starro. Just like Batman Begins did a great job of not going immediately with Joker or one of Batman's other well-known and theme specific villains (even Scarecrow wasn't really Scarecrow until the very end) the Justice League film shouldn't come out with a villain we're all expecting.

Also, going with an antagonist like Cadmus, Amazo, or other such idea allows a better opportunity to bring Cyborg into the team (I know die hard fans are still not happy about dropping Martian Manhunter for him in the comics but in many ways it made a lot of sense to bring in a new founding character for the new 52) instead of Green Lantern (I've said before, not a fan of a GL on the team as they have far more important duties to perform all over the galaxy than needing to worry about one planet and one team, plus keeping a GL out of the line-up keeps the production team from needing to accomodate such a wide range of powers and looks, especially with the difficulty the GL film had at bringing the character to live action). That way the line-up can be:

Superman

Batman

Wonder Woman

Martian Manhunter - but I would still press for the power change I talked about above so that Superman is the most power diverse character and going along with his power change loose the cape in his costume (don't use the bare chest, cross-X version but the purple body suit one with cross-X)

Flash - Barry Allen of course but a reference should be made to Wally

Hawkgirl - I can see the case for Aquaman, but I think the stronger case against him is that the majority of the film is going to take place on land or in the air so he's going to look silly by comparison even if he's written as well as his series is now. Hawkgirl can be in both battlefields, and I don't think its a bad thing to have two women on the team. Its not simply about being PC or anything like that, just the fact that DC has great female characters and only showing Wonder Woman I think is a disservice to that pool they have available

Cyborg - rather than the intro he got in the new 52 with the few seconds of technology grafting, have Silas be a member of Cadmus and Victor having been injured a year or so prior to the film. That entire time Silas has been using Cadmus' technology to keep his son alive and help him adjust to his new existence as part man and part machine. At the same time he's been using Victor as a test platform (just like the experiments his parents put him through in his earlier origins) and part of those advances went into the Amazo's. This makes Victor feel responsible for what is happening and reveals himself to the other heroes to help stop the threat.

This would be an impressive line-up when you consider the raw power, intelligence, fighting ability, and technology these seven would bring to the fight. Yeah it doesn't include a Green Lantern, but I don't think it needs it.

@SmashBrawler said:

I've always thought that going animated may separate the DC movies from the Marvel movies. The only problem I have with this is that people probably won't take the DCU seriously (at least not as much as they would do with the Marvel Universe).

That would be especially true if it were animated. Unfortunately in this day and age, unless it's a Disney/Pixar film, animation is for the kids. The beauty of the Marvel movies is that they have something for everyone.

@Gambit1024 said:

@SmashBrawler said:

I've always thought that going animated may separate the DC movies from the Marvel movies. The only problem I have with this is that people probably won't take the DCU seriously (at least not as much as they would do with the Marvel Universe).

That would be especially true if it were animated. Unfortunately in this day and age, unless it's a Disney/Pixar film, animation is for the kids. The beauty of the Marvel movies is that they have something for everyone.

The worst part is that WB really seems to think the Nolan way of doing things (realism) is the only correct one. I have no doubt MoS will be awesome, but this way of doing movies annoys me to no end because it feels like a betrayal of the character's original concepts. The Avengers embraced its comic book origins, why can't the DC movies do the same?

Like I said in the Unpopular Opinions thread: The Dark Knight is both the best movie in the Batman series and the worst Batman movie.

@SmashBrawler said:

@Gambit1024 said:

@SmashBrawler said:

I've always thought that going animated may separate the DC movies from the Marvel movies. The only problem I have with this is that people probably won't take the DCU seriously (at least not as much as they would do with the Marvel Universe).

That would be especially true if it were animated. Unfortunately in this day and age, unless it's a Disney/Pixar film, animation is for the kids. The beauty of the Marvel movies is that they have something for everyone.

The worst part is that WB really seems to think the Nolan way of doing things (realism) is the only correct one. I have no doubt MoS will be awesome, but this way of doing movies annoys me to no end because it feels like a betrayal of the character's original concepts. The Avengers embraced its comic book origins, why can't the DC movies do the same?

Like I said in the Unpopular Opinions thread: The Dark Knight is both the best movie in the Batman series and the worst Batman movie.

I can agree with that last part, but this "realistic" approach is very interesting to me. It sets it very much apart from the Marvel stuff in that way. Personally, I wouldn't exactly mind if that's the way they wanna do it for the whole JL, but the kid in me who grew up watching Timm's JL cartoon is dying for the fantasy element that's been missing. Either way, I'll be pleased in either direction they take so long as a) they don't rush it (and you know they will) and b) they don't replace any Leaguer with Cyborg (and you know they will).

@Gambit1024 said:

@SmashBrawler said:

@Gambit1024 said:

@SmashBrawler said:

I've always thought that going animated may separate the DC movies from the Marvel movies. The only problem I have with this is that people probably won't take the DCU seriously (at least not as much as they would do with the Marvel Universe).

That would be especially true if it were animated. Unfortunately in this day and age, unless it's a Disney/Pixar film, animation is for the kids. The beauty of the Marvel movies is that they have something for everyone.

The worst part is that WB really seems to think the Nolan way of doing things (realism) is the only correct one. I have no doubt MoS will be awesome, but this way of doing movies annoys me to no end because it feels like a betrayal of the character's original concepts. The Avengers embraced its comic book origins, why can't the DC movies do the same?

Like I said in the Unpopular Opinions thread: The Dark Knight is both the best movie in the Batman series and the worst Batman movie.

I can agree with that last part, but this "realistic" approach is very interesting to me. It sets it very much apart from the Marvel stuff in that way. Personally, I wouldn't exactly mind if that's the way they wanna do it for the whole JL, but the kid in me who grew up watching Timm's JL cartoon is dying for the fantasy element that's been missing. Either way, I'll be pleased in either direction they take so long as a) they don't rush it (and you know they will) and b) they don't replace any Leaguer with Cyborg (and you know they will).

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with a somewhat realistic approach (maybe like MoS?), but stuff like The Dark Knight is way too overkill to me. Replace Batman with a hero cop, Joker with some random psychopath and Two-Face's scars with something less espectacular and you've got yourself an nice action-packed crime thriller. Not to mention that a Batman that has problems fighting effin' dogs has no place in any Justice League (well, maybe except for Extreme Justice, but only because that League sucked).

@SmashBrawler said:

@Gambit1024 said:

@SmashBrawler said:

@Gambit1024 said:

@SmashBrawler said:

I've always thought that going animated may separate the DC movies from the Marvel movies. The only problem I have with this is that people probably won't take the DCU seriously (at least not as much as they would do with the Marvel Universe).

That would be especially true if it were animated. Unfortunately in this day and age, unless it's a Disney/Pixar film, animation is for the kids. The beauty of the Marvel movies is that they have something for everyone.

The worst part is that WB really seems to think the Nolan way of doing things (realism) is the only correct one. I have no doubt MoS will be awesome, but this way of doing movies annoys me to no end because it feels like a betrayal of the character's original concepts. The Avengers embraced its comic book origins, why can't the DC movies do the same?

Like I said in the Unpopular Opinions thread: The Dark Knight is both the best movie in the Batman series and the worst Batman movie.

I can agree with that last part, but this "realistic" approach is very interesting to me. It sets it very much apart from the Marvel stuff in that way. Personally, I wouldn't exactly mind if that's the way they wanna do it for the whole JL, but the kid in me who grew up watching Timm's JL cartoon is dying for the fantasy element that's been missing. Either way, I'll be pleased in either direction they take so long as a) they don't rush it (and you know they will) and b) they don't replace any Leaguer with Cyborg (and you know they will).

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with a somewhat realistic approach (maybe like MoS?), but stuff like The Dark Knight is way too overkill to me. Replace Batman with a hero cop, Joker with some random psychopath and Two-Face's scars with something less espectacular and you've got yourself an nice action-packed crime thriller. Not to mention that a Batman that has problems fighting effin' dogs has no place in any Justice League (well, maybe except for Extreme Justice, but only because that League sucked).

I agree 100%. Honestly, TDK was an excellent movie, but as a superhero movie, it didn't get the job done, IMO. Frankly, I don't understand why we can't get a Batman movie like the Arkham Asylum game. It has the perfect balance of realism and fantasy, and we both know that it was one of, if not the best, superhero games ever made. Of course there's gonna be that balance in MoS (there'd have to be, right?) so that's why I'm not worried about that movie at all. The only movies I can see being really hard to make in that way are Green Lantern (which tried and failed), and Wonder Woman (which would be tough, considering the gods). Flash, believe it or not, would be the easiest character to make a movie out of. It's mind-boggling to me that it hasn't happened for him yet.

@ltbrd: I like the idea of Amazo as a villain. I think that could be a good route to take. As for your lineup, Green Lantern needs to be there and Cyborg should definitely not be there. I do also agree that Martian Manhunter would need to be differentiated from Superman.

@SmashBrawler: @Gambit1024: I think they could have a serious animated approach, not every animated movie is written off as a kids movie. And it's not like it wouldn't be created as a kid's movie or that people wouldn't see it. A complex story with fun animation could be a route to the best of both worlds.

@Gambit1024 said:

I agree 100%. Honestly, TDK was an excellent movie, but as a superhero movie, it didn't get the job done, IMO. Frankly, I don't understand why we can't get a Batman movie like the Arkham Asylum game. It has the perfect balance of realism and fantasy, and we both know that it was one of, if not the best, superhero games ever made. Of course there's gonna be that balance in MoS (there'd have to be, right?) so that's why I'm not worried about that movie at all. The only movies I can see being really hard to make in that way are Green Lantern (which tried and failed), and Wonder Woman (which would be tough, considering the gods). Flash, believe it or not, would be the easiest character to make a movie out of. It's mind-boggling to me that it hasn't happened for him yet.

I absoluely agree about Arkham City/Asylum. I think it's the perfect balance between comic book fun and realism. I also don't think a Green Lantern movie couldn't succeed. If they did a better job with a script that had depth and maybe better casting and visuals a Green Lantern movie would be awesome! Wonder Woman is very doable with the right creative team and a little hope. And I think if they cast the Flash well they could definitely have a killer movie, I think that I've heard super speed is hard to translate to live action though.

But yeah, I really want an Arkham City-esque Batman movie.

@Gambit1024 said:

@SmashBrawler said:

@Gambit1024 said:

@SmashBrawler said:

@Gambit1024 said:

@SmashBrawler said:

I've always thought that going animated may separate the DC movies from the Marvel movies. The only problem I have with this is that people probably won't take the DCU seriously (at least not as much as they would do with the Marvel Universe).

That would be especially true if it were animated. Unfortunately in this day and age, unless it's a Disney/Pixar film, animation is for the kids. The beauty of the Marvel movies is that they have something for everyone.

The worst part is that WB really seems to think the Nolan way of doing things (realism) is the only correct one. I have no doubt MoS will be awesome, but this way of doing movies annoys me to no end because it feels like a betrayal of the character's original concepts. The Avengers embraced its comic book origins, why can't the DC movies do the same?

Like I said in the Unpopular Opinions thread: The Dark Knight is both the best movie in the Batman series and the worst Batman movie.

I can agree with that last part, but this "realistic" approach is very interesting to me. It sets it very much apart from the Marvel stuff in that way. Personally, I wouldn't exactly mind if that's the way they wanna do it for the whole JL, but the kid in me who grew up watching Timm's JL cartoon is dying for the fantasy element that's been missing. Either way, I'll be pleased in either direction they take so long as a) they don't rush it (and you know they will) and b) they don't replace any Leaguer with Cyborg (and you know they will).

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with a somewhat realistic approach (maybe like MoS?), but stuff like The Dark Knight is way too overkill to me. Replace Batman with a hero cop, Joker with some random psychopath and Two-Face's scars with something less espectacular and you've got yourself an nice action-packed crime thriller. Not to mention that a Batman that has problems fighting effin' dogs has no place in any Justice League (well, maybe except for Extreme Justice, but only because that League sucked).

I agree 100%. Honestly, TDK was an excellent movie, but as a superhero movie, it didn't get the job done, IMO. Frankly, I don't understand why we can't get a Batman movie like the Arkham Asylum game. It has the perfect balance of realism and fantasy, and we both know that it was one of, if not the best, superhero games ever made. Of course there's gonna be that balance in MoS (there'd have to be, right?) so that's why I'm not worried about that movie at all. The only movies I can see being really hard to make in that way are Green Lantern (which tried and failed), and Wonder Woman (which would be tough, considering the gods). Flash, believe it or not, would be the easiest character to make a movie out of. It's mind-boggling to me that it hasn't happened for him yet.

Flash is an awesome character who has been long overdue a film. The only problem I always come across with when thinking about a Flash movie is the villian, the conflict. A lot of people think about the Rogues, but as much as I love them I can't bring myself to see them as the best villains for the best movie (maybe the second one). It has to be someone who can challenge the hero in a physical and personal way while still not making the other villains look like worse. I can't think of any Flash villain that can do such a thing. Maybe Professor Zoom? It feels like a waste to use him in the first movie, though...

Wonder Woman would not be that hard. They can go with a God of War-esquetone for the movie, a more classic one ala George Perez or a horror/modern tone like Brian Azzarello's current run. GL was a wasted opportunity, but the character can still succeed without rebooting the series (at least not completely).

@SmashBrawler said:

Flash is an awesome character who has been long overdue a film. The only problem I always come across with when thinking about a Flash movie is the villian, the conflict. A lot of people think about the Rogues, but as much as I love them I can't bring myself to see them as the best villains for the best movie (maybe the second one). It has to be someone who can challenge the hero in a physical and personal way while still not making the other villains look like worse. I can't think of any Flash villain that can do such a thing. Maybe Professor Zoom? It feels like a waste to use him in the first movie, though...

Wonder Woman would not be that hard. They can go with a God of War-esquetone for the movie, a more classic one ala George Perez or a horror/modern tone like Brian Azzarello's current run. GL was a wasted opportunity, but the character can still succeed without rebooting the series (at least not completely).

I think the Rogues could work. The police scientist turn speedster in time to solve a superpowered crime spree? Get some heist movie action? I think they could work. Maybe Grodd? Zoom would have to be a sequel

@Mbecks14 said:

@SmashBrawler said:

Flash is an awesome character who has been long overdue a film. The only problem I always come across with when thinking about a Flash movie is the villian, the conflict. A lot of people think about the Rogues, but as much as I love them I can't bring myself to see them as the best villains for the best movie (maybe the second one). It has to be someone who can challenge the hero in a physical and personal way while still not making the other villains look like worse. I can't think of any Flash villain that can do such a thing. Maybe Professor Zoom? It feels like a waste to use him in the first movie, though...

Wonder Woman would not be that hard. They can go with a God of War-esquetone for the movie, a more classic one ala George Perez or a horror/modern tone like Brian Azzarello's current run. GL was a wasted opportunity, but the character can still succeed without rebooting the series (at least not completely).

I think the Rogues could work. The police scientist turn speedster in time to solve a superpowered crime spree? Get some heist movie action? I think they could work. Maybe Grodd? Zoom would have to be a sequel

I don't know, I've always felt the first villain HAS to be only one (with maybe one supporting villain, but that's it). There's something cool about having only one villain, like it's a personal test of fire. The Rogues wouldn't work because there's no individuality (I mean, yes, they're all different, but it's hard to flesh each of them out when you also have to tell the hero's origin). Grodd would be a little too silly for a first movie.

@SmashBrawler said:

I don't know, I've always felt the first villain HAS to be only one (with maybe one supporting villain, but that's it). There's something cool about having only one villain, like it's a personal test of fire. The Rogues wouldn't work because there's no individuality (I mean, yes, they're all different, but it's hard to flesh each of them out when you also have to tell the hero's origin). Grodd would be a little too silly for a first movie.

Really? Batman Begins pulled it off with Ras al Ghul and the Scarecrow, and X-Men pulled it off with the Brotherhood of Mutants, Thor had Loki and the Destoryer and the Frost Giants. Actually all the Batman movies had at least 2 villains. I think of the Rogues as a unit, so they'd be working together against one really powerful guy. I don't see any reason why he would only need one single opponent. We could squeeze in some characterization for the rogues in a movie and have time for the Flash's origin. I think a scary, intense psychic Grodd could be pretty bad ass, but he might need another villain, thinking about it as I type an evil gorilla as his arch enemy could be a little silly.

@Mbecks14:

For the animated thing: I'll be the first one to tell you that DC has their sh*t together when it comes to animated projects. Under the Red Hood, Wonder Woman, New Frontier, The Dark Knight Returns Pt. 1, and Mask of the Phantasm were some of the best superhero films ever made. As great as they are, however, those films, with the slight exception of Phantasm is that those movies were made for us-- the comic book readers. If WB goes ahead and does something like make a big-budget animated JLA movie, it's going to be for their target audience-- the kids who buy the toys. It's a crappy way of looking at it, but that's a big reason why I feel we haven't gotten a Wonder Woman movie yet. What little boy is going to buy Wonder Woman action figures? See what I mean? The only way I personally can see an animated JLA movie being great is if it were motion captured, but judging by how well movies like Beowulf and Polar Express did, it probably won't do so well. Sure, an animated movie can be done, but in all honesty, it won't be nearly as successful as a live-action film. This is all my opinion, as I wouldn't call myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination.

For GL, I think just about everything that could have went wrong with the Ryan Reynolds movie did go wrong. The script sucked, the villains were dumb, the visuals were cheesy and extremely fake-looking, etc. I'm not saying that a GL movie can't succeed, I'm just saying that it's the hardest of the JL franchise to succeed. As for WW, I think Smash Brawler's got the right idea of adapting Brian Azzarello's run into a film (or at least his writing style). It's got something for everyone: Adults enjoy the action, the girls get to see WW kick some ass, and the boys would be all over the cool-looking gods like Poseidon, Hermes, and Apollo.

@SmashBrawler:

For Flash I was thinking that they should build up to the Rouges. Of course they'd have to toughen them up, maybe keep their New 52 powers, but you can't have a Flash franchise without the Rogues.

@Gambit1024: While the animated movie are definitely geared towards the fans, they all have wide appeal, and in a lot of cases they don't need any prior knowledge of the characters (Wonder Woman, JL: Doom, GL: First Flight). And you said youself the toys are a big sell, but you can merchandise the shit out of an animated movie. Look at what Pixar's done with Cars. It's not even a good movie. They could have action figures, McDonalds stuff, and all kinds of merchandise off an animated movie probably easier than a live action one. I don't think stop motion would be a good call, but animated movies get a lot of attention from all ages so I don't think it's a stretch to make it work. The Incredibles pulled it off.

For a Wonder Woman movie, you're about 75% right. Hollywood doesn't think a female lead can hold a movie. They sell directly to males. And yeah maybe guys would be less inclined to buy a female action figure, but that doesn't mean nobody will. I'm a guy and I'd love a Wonder Woman movie. Wonder Woman could totally work if it used the same visuals as other Greek Mythology movies. Get the Cheetah and Ares in there? It's totally doable, honestly the only thing stopping it is probably Hollywood misogyny.

Hollywood doesn't think a female lead can hold a movie? What about Hunger Games?

I agree the DC "Magnificant 7" is the team I want as well, with White Martians as the villains...

I may be overstepping here but has anyone thought it might be a good a idea to create a new villain in a JL movie?

People, when speculating villains to bring the JL together, tend to mention the same villains (Darkseid is the most obvious choice). Perhaps a new villain could be created specifically for the film? It's about time somebody other than Darkseid pose a monumental threat to the entire DC universe. And this could be a good chance to create a whole new character.

Of course, this could always go horribly wrong if the villain sucks of just doesn't have an iconic sort of feel to him/her. But it is an interesting idea so far as I'm concerned.

@SupBatz: I agree, it would be interesting. But I think the fans wouldn't receive the idea well.

@Mbecks14: What I meant is that I don't think they would do the Rogues justice if they were featured in the first movie, since you also have to worry about telling the hero's origin and making him relatable to the audience. In a sequel however, you can focus more on the villains because you've already set-up the hero.

@SupBatz said:

I may be overstepping here but has anyone thought it might be a good a idea to create a new villain in a JL movie?

People, when speculating villains to bring the JL together, tend to mention the same villains (Darkseid is the most obvious choice). Perhaps a new villain could be created specifically for the film? It's about time somebody other than Darkseid pose a monumental threat to the entire DC universe. And this could be a good chance to create a whole new character.

Of course, this could always go horribly wrong if the villain sucks of just doesn't have an iconic sort of feel to him/her. But it is an interesting idea so far as I'm concerned.

If I had faith that they could create a new and interesting villain, then maybe. But I think DC has such a strong stable of villains to choose from that it would make more sense to go with an established character.

@SmashBrawler said:

@Mbecks14: What I meant is that I don't think they would do the Rogues justice if they were featured in the first movie, since you also have to worry about telling the hero's origin and making him relatable to the audience. In a sequel however, you can focus more on the villains because you've already set-up the hero.

Hm. I mean I don't think they'd have to work that hard to make the Flash relateable and the Flash's origin of powers and stuff could be done pretty quickly to save time for villain development. Hm, I guess I just honestly can't see it as very difficult to establish the rogues and the flash together. I love the rogues, but you don't need to delve that deeply into each individual one's backstory to establish them. Have them as pre-existing characters who've been using their high tech weapons and you can skip trying to force multiple origins in there.

I completely agree on the animation front. An animated Justice League film would be great to see in theatres. With Warner Bros backing them, DC have produced some brilliant animated projects. I've been meaning to write a blog on why animation is a better place for superheroes than live action. There are a couple of things I disagree with however:

1. Martian Manhunter - I know he's an integral League member and he's one of my favourites but if you think about putting a guy more powerful than Superman on the team, it kind of makes you wonder why the team hasn't stopped the threat already. Even if he can provide diversity, if the Justice League are to face a worthy challenge in their film, MM has to be left out of the line up.

2. No alien invasion - To the average movie goer, if the Justice League film goes down the alien invasion route, people will just say that it's copying the Avengers and that's a shame. DC's alien rogues gallery would have been great to see on the screen. Without aliens, the film will have to have another adversary. I was thinking maybe Felix Faust or Vandal Savage bringing about some ancient evil? In any case, the Justice League should face a terrestrial rather than an extra terrestrial threat

@Lvenger: Yeah! Animation FTW!

1. I don't think Martian Manhunter has to be left out of the line up. But I think he could be. They could definitely get away without using him in the moive but I don't think him being there would take away from it. Especially if they focus more on his psychic powers

2. Agreed. A terrestrial threat is probably the safer way to go. I like the Vandal Savage idea!

I'd love to see a Legion of Doom style movie (Like Justice or JLU season 3) but that would be a better sequel

@Mbecks14:

1. Like in the Justice League cartoon? Perhaps that could work. More of a focus on his mental, intangible and shapeshifting abilities could allow him to be in the film without surpassing Superman physically.

2. I like your Legion of Doom idea as well but I wonder whether they can get all the actors to play the roles. Although it would play well in the spin off films DC are doing.

@Lvenger said:

@Mbecks14:

1. Like in the Justice League cartoon? Perhaps that could work. More of a focus on his mental, intangible and shapeshifting abilities could allow him to be in the film without surpassing Superman physically.

2. I like your Legion of Doom idea as well but I wonder whether they can get all the actors to play the roles. Although it would play well in the spin off films DC are doing.

1. Yeah that way he has a more unique purpose in the league

2. That's another reason I'd go with animation > live action

Hey new here I had to signup just to post my idea

alot of people are saying a 2015 release window isn't a long enough time to get this film out and have proper character development ,well im here to give my plan on how to fix this

first off look back to those mortal kombat youtube shorts , they got people talking now didn't they? my idea is over the next 2 years have 7-10 15 minute short films on youtube based on each member of the justice league and or villian ,if done right we get a balanced amount of character development without only giving five minutes face time to each one in the actual film.

ex. flash vs rogues, batman vs penguin , Superman vs metallo and so on

Once all the shorts are aired you can slowly tease the formation of the team just prior to an event taking place on earth,something such as darkseid pre invasion or something along those lines. All of this will lead into the film starting off with a huge bang ,something like how the team came together on Earth 2 recently to fight off Grundy

anyway this was just my idea for WB and DC to save alot of wasted time in the actual film trying to explain who each member is and what they do

Look, the members on the big 7 aren't just any Flash and any Green Lantern. It's really only the big 7 if it's Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. Using anyone else is basically saying everyone who's been a Flash or a Green Lantern is the same, and that's not true.

While I do prefer Barry and Hal because they're the iconic characters, I think you have to go with John Stewart as Green Lantern at this point. There is a gaping void in hollywood with the lack of black superheroes. He's recognizable enough to pull the same weight.

@mbecks14: Say, I really don't mean to dig the subject back up, but it just hit me: shouldn't Wonder Woman, by all logic, be Greek?