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Doug Liman explains the production status of Dark Universe

By Erik Swann

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Doug Liman says that he’s not ready to start production on Dark Universe just yet.

Dark Universe (Justice League Dark) has been in development for some time now. Since being announced as director, Doug Liman has kept himself very busy with films like last year’s Jason Bourne, the recently released The Wall, and the upcoming American Made. This has caused fans to wonder when he might start work on his DC adaptation. Well, he’s finally answered the question, and it might frustrate fans.

In a recent interview with Collider, Liman was first asked if he will still be working on the film to which he assured that he will definitely make the movie. He then discussed how the film will stay true to his approach to handling superheroes:

"Yeah. I have a really amazing take on it that is in keeping with my approach to superheroes. Jason Bourne is a superhero, of sorts. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena, in The Wall, are superheroes. They’re very grounded, but the amount of training and stuff that soldiers bring to the field, they’re like Iron Man. If they open up another pouch, they’ve got another thing. It’s amazing, how resourceful they are and how much stuff they bring into the field. They’re like superheroes. So, I’m really excited, with Justice League Dark, to actually look at what it’s like, if I actually tackle a real superhero, but it’s not gonna look that different from my other superheroes."

Now, here comes the frustrating part. The director also confirmed that he does not know when production will officially commence on the project, and also explained his method of choosing what films to work on:

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"I have to have a passionate connection to my films, which I do with Justice League Dark. I have a way into the story that’s personal, the way I have a connection to The Wall. Not that I’ve ever been a soldier or been in the field, but the level of perseverance and the fact that Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena just keep picking themselves up when all seems lost, I feel a connection to that. I feel like I have a little understanding of that because, in my own way, I’ve had moments of despair and that all is lost, and I’ve picked myself back up. I feel a real connection to Justice League Dark. But part of my process is that, when I finish a movie, the movies I choose to do after it are guided by the experience I had on the previous movie. I chose Mr. & Mrs. Smith specifically ‘cause I had just made The Bourne Identity and made a film that glamorized being an action hero, and I wanted to make the exact opposite. I wanted to make a movie that glamorized maintaining a marriage, and that made the action hero part seem easy and made the marriage part seem hard. The Wall is a reaction to Edge of Tomorrow, where I was like, “I don’t need time travel and aliens to take a hero and pin them down in an impossible situation. I can do it in a much simpler way.” And that was The Wall. The paint is still wet on The Wall. I’m not sure what I’m going to take away from it, and therefore what I’m gonna want to do next."

Next: Doug Liman discusses his approach to Dark Universe

It’s good to know that Liman is not only still attached to the movie, but that he is also extremely passionate about it. With that being said, development for Dark Universe is taking a long time. I understand that motion pictures can stay in development for a while, and Liman is a proven director with a solid process. But, it feels like the film has barely made any real progress since it was announced a few years ago.

As I said, that Warner Bros. is still making it with Liman on board is great, but unfortunately, it sounds like it’s still going to be a while before we see John Constantine and company on the big screen.

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