Justice League: 5 Biggest Things We Learned
A bunch of reporters got the opportunity to visit the set of the Justice League movie in London over the weekend, here’s the biggest things they learned.
While we still have Suicide Squad and then Wonder Woman well before it’s release, I think it’s safe to say most if not all eyes as far as DC movies go are on the upcoming Justice League movie that is filming right now in London and due out for release in November of next year. Not only is it the direct follow-up to the divisive Batman v Superman movie with Zack Snyder still directing, it seems to be where all the managerial shuffling is happening. Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman are more or less being left alone in terms of any major meddling and it’s really the DC Movie universe from Justice League on that is being affected.
But will all these moves bring about the positive changes most critics and fans want in the DC Universe, especially with Zack Snyder involved? Well many reporters (sadly not us) got to fly out and see the set of Justice League while it was being filmed, and left with some pretty positive impressions. There wasn’t much in the way of huge news, but here is 5 big takeaways from all the news today.
Next: #5. Justice League Is A Stand Alone Movie
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#5. Justice League is a stand-alone movie
So from the beginning, when Warner Bros. announced it’s 5+ year plan for DC Movies, one of the big talking points was Justice League Part One & Two, very much suggesting that the Justice League would be an epic two-part movie. That has obviously changed. Justice League is considered a stand-alone film that is definitely not part one of a two-part story. It doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be things hinted at for future films, but it won’t end on some cliffhanger and then we’ll have to wait two years to see what happens. How this affects the 2019 Justice League sequel that is supposedly still on the calendar, we don’t really know, all director Zack Snyder would say is that this movie would feel like a complete on and the sequel is still on schedule to be filmed.
"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."
Next: #4. Batman Is Iron Man, Basically
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#4. Batman Is Iron Man, Basically
Well that’s a bit misleading. Batman isn’t suddenly going to start cracking jokes, making pop culture references, and basically be responsible for creating androids that nearly destroy the world. But much like Iron Man, Batman will be the tech guy for the Justice League. He will be making a new plane to help transport the whole league (hey not everybody can fly), as well as some new vehicles you will see in the film. But most importantly, much like Iron Man gave Spider-Man a cool new suit, Bruce Wayne will give Barry Allen a sleek new Wayne Tech-infused suit far superior to his rather crappy homemade one. Producer Deborah Snyder mentioned that Batman will be developing tech that aids all the members of the Justice League.
Next: #3. Steppenwolf Is The Villain Of Justice League
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#3. Steppenwolf Is The Villain Of Justice League
This had previously been rumored, but it has now been confirmed that the primary villain of Justice League is in fact, Steppenwolf. If you need a reminder, Steppenwolf is Darkseid’s Uncle, and the leader of the armies of Apokolips, Darkseid’s home planet. Also Parademons aren’t a mere dream of Batman’s anymore, they will be majorly involved in the film. It was also confirmed that Justice League will be at least referencing both the New Gods as well as the Old Gods, which are majorly tied to not just DC but specifically Darkeseid. Though there was no mention of is we would actually see a character like Orion or Kalibak. As far as who would actually be playing Steppenwolf, reporters were told that no one has been cast yet but a deal was close to being finalized.
What does that mean for Darkseid? Well, it could definitely be a Thanos-esque appearance where he’s not really involved in the events and might not even pop up until some post-credits thing. None of this was really confirmed. In fact, Darkseid himself wasn’t even mentioned, but you can’t have Steppenwolf and then not have Darkseid so Darkseid will most likely be the main villain of Justice League 2.
Next: #2. Flash Might Be The Breakout Character Of Justice League
#2. Flash Might Be The Breakout Character Of Justice League
Ezra Miller is in a pretty hard spot for Justice League. Sure, he’s playing a beloved DC character, The Flash, being brought to the big screen for the first time. But of course there is another Flash, Grant Gustin on CW’s The Flash TV show, and he started first and people absolutely love him in the role. So they are instantly hating Ezra Miller for being Barry Allen, but not being Grant Gustin (though seriously, couldn’t you just have named him Wally West or Bart Allen or hell Jay Garrick and just avoided all that? Those people may be on the show but the aren’t nearly as popular as Grant Gustin is).
But Barry Allen may be the secret weapon of the Justice League movie as well as it’s breakout character. Ezra Miller was apparently the highlight of the set visit, showing a lot of charm and wit (along with Ray Fisher, who plays Cyborg) during both interviews and scenes. Though Justice League is still filming and a long way from being done (Jesse Eisenberg will reprise his role as Lex Luthor for example, but doesn’t even shoot his part until August), reporters were shown a clip that had Bruce Wayne and Barry Allen meeting in Allen’s apartment (sounding a lot like the scene in Civil War where Tony Stark shows up at Peter Parker’s home unexpectedly) and there was some good chemistry as well as some humor on display. It all seems to imply that humor will play a part in Justice League, and Flash will probably be the main source of it.
Next: #1. Justice League Is Much Lighter And Inclusive Than Batman v Superman
#1. Justice League Is Much Lighter & More Inclusive Than Batman V Superman
Whether or not you liked Batman v Superman, it was a very dark movie and definitely not something kids can watch. Which is fine for some comic book films, but admittedly, when you are trying to launch a movie universe and slap your characters on action figures, cereals, and fruit snacks, you might try to appeal to kids more, and that’s exactly what Justice League will be doing.
Ben Affleck admitted Batman v Superman was a pretty dark film, but said that Justice League has room for humor, and that it’s about hope, Producer Deborah Snyder said Batman v Superman is as dark as they want to go, and while movies like Suicide Squad and even Wonder Woman might have their own distinct audience, Justice League is a broader film, and that’s reflected in the two youngest heroes, Flash and Cyborg. Snyder continued by saying what they really learned from Batman v Superman is that they tried to deconstruct people’s heroes, and people didn’t like that, they like seeing these characters in their glory.
These do sound like a lot of positive steps towards fixing many of the problems people had with Batman v Superman for Justice League. Of course, at the end of the day, Zack Snyder is still directing the thing, and it’s hard to say whether Zack Snyder can even make a crowd-pleasing film a broad audience can enjoy. I think he can make good dark films on occasion, but Justice League reportedly isn’t that. Maybe being reigned in by not only Ben Affleck but Geoff Johns will make Zack Snyder pull off one of the best films he’s ever done. Justice League comes out in theaters November 17th, 2017.
h/t Comicbook.com