There is nothing romantic about the Justice League, but what if there was? With AI’s help, we turned Zack Snyder’s Justice League into a Hallmark movie.
When one thinks of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, romance is far from the first thing that will come to mind as there wasn’t exactly much time for romance — especially the lighthearted kind — within the tonally darker film.
In the film, the villainous Steppenwolf sets out to gather the Mother Boxes at the behest of his master, Darkseid. Looking to stop him before he can gather the three Mother Boxes and conquer Earth, Batman and Wonder Woman join forces as they set out to recruit a new team of heroes including Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash.
The movie is full of action-packed fight scenes and breathtaking visual effects and is known for its darker and more serious tone, but what if the film was presented through an entirely different lens?
What if instead of a movie that was dark and took itself incredibly seriously, the film was presented through an entirely different lens? Say, that of a romantic tale told in the same vein as a Hallmark movie.
AI brilliantly reimagines Justice League as a Hallmark movie
While the superhero genre has branched out into many subgenres over the years including action, sci-fi, fantasy, historical, comedy, and more, one genre that hasn’t exactly been explored in either the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the DC Extended Universe is the romance genre. Sure there are love stories intertwined within the shared universes, but they’re rarely at the forefront and don’t typically lean into the typical cliches attached to the romantic genre.
There’s no telling when or if we might one day get a romantic superhero film that marries the best of both genres in one film, so we decided to have some fun by tasking ChatGPT’s AI with reimagining Zack Synder’s Justice League as a Hallmark movie.
In looking to give it as much creative liberty as possible, we did not give it any restrictions at all. Our request was simple: Using the tropes and cliches of Hallmark movies, reimagine Justice League as a Hallmark movie. Here’s what it came up with:
"Title: A League of LoveOpening scene: A picturesque town is shown, with the camera panning to a cozy café where Diana (Wonder Woman) is working. She’s stirring coffee in a cute apron when a tall, dark, and handsome stranger, Clark (Superman), walks in.Clark: Hi, can I get a coffee?Diana: (smiling) Sure thing. One coffee coming up!As Diana hands him the coffee, their hands touch, and they share a brief moment of eye contact, and there’s an instant spark between them.Cut to: Bruce (Batman) is driving down the road, talking on the phone when he suddenly has to swerve to avoid hitting a woman, Selina (Catwoman), who was running across the street. Bruce’s car ends up in a ditch, and Selina rushes to see if he’s okay.Selina: Are you all right?Bruce: Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for saving my life.Selina: (smiling) It’s my pleasure.As they chat, they discover that they have a lot in common, and there’s a clear attraction between them.Cut to: Barry (The Flash) is rushing to deliver flowers to his grandmother for her birthday when he accidentally bumps into a woman, Iris (Iris West). The flowers scatter all over the place, and Iris helps him gather them.Barry: (flustered) I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you.Iris: (smiling) No worries. I’m Iris.Barry: (smiling back) I’m Barry.As they pick up the flowers, Barry feels his heart racing, and he knows that he’s falling for Iris.Cut to: The group is having dinner together, and they’re all laughing and having a good time. Suddenly, they hear a noise outside, and they rush out to see what’s happening.Cut to: A gang of criminals is robbing the local bank, and the Justice League springs into action.Cut to: The Justice League stops the criminals, and everyone cheers. As they’re celebrating, they realize that they’ve all found love in this small town, and they couldn’t be happier.Closing scene: The Justice League is seen walking arm in arm, smiling and laughing, while the camera pans out to show the picturesque town. The end."
Okay then, AI definitely took more than a few creative liberties but it actually sort of works! We cut out the central villain in Steppenwolf — which, who needed him anyway? Then we add romance between the team’s many heroes, with a dash of drama because even a Hallmark movie needs a little bit of drama. And the end result is actually an amazing DC romantic dramedy which would definitely be a change of pace from the usual darker narrative explored within a DC movie.
What’s most incredible about the result is how ChatGPT’s AI went beyond just giving us a quick synopsis but actually fleshed out the idea with several brief cut scenes to help tell the story between the opening and closing scenes. It’s actually brilliant how the various romances play out within the film almost in a style such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, which intertwines several stories into one connected storyline.
While it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see a Justice League rom-com, it’s definitely fun to think of what could be and what is a good comic book story without a bit of romance?!