The tale of Justice League: Mortal is legendary amongst superhero film fans. Though DC lovers had to wait until 2017 to get a Justice League movie (and even then, it wasn’t everything they’d hoped for), they could’ve got one back in 2009 if Warner Bros.’ initial plans had gone through. Mad Max director George Miller was supposed to helm the all-star team-up film that would’ve beaten The Avengers to the punch by three years, but production issues ultimately stopped it from reaching cameras.
Over time, we’ve gotten some glimpses at how the characters could’ve appeared in the movie, such as Armie Hammer’s Batman, Megan Gale’s Wonder Woman and D.J. Cotrona’s Superman. However, we haven’t had a good look at what Hugh Keays-Byrne could’ve looked like as Martian Manhunter. Fan artist Spdrmnkyxxiii has now taken a stab at imagining what might’ve been though, creating a possible character design for J’onn J’onzz in Mortal.
The artist has gone for a mostly classic look for the Martian hero here, which actually fits with what we’ve seen of the early costumes for Mortal. The character’s perhaps a little bulkier than we expect from the Manhunter, but that fits the Australian actor’s frame and is probably a good bet at how he might’ve appeared on screen.
Though Mortal never made it into cinemas, a few of the cast later found themselves in the DC universe in other roles. Common, who would’ve played John Stewart’s Green Lantern, showed up in Suicide Squad and Adam Brody (Flash) and Cotrona are reportedly set to turn up in Shazam! Jay Baruchel, meanwhile, would’ve been Mortal‘s main villain, Maxwell Lord, a character who’s expected to be portrayed by Pedro Pascal in Wonder Woman 1984.
Tell us, do you wish Justice League: Mortal had been made? And who do you think should play Martian Manhunter when he finally comes to the big screen? Let us know by dropping a comment down below.