It’s becoming more apparent every day that no one has any idea what Warner Bros. is planning on doing with the DC characters after Man Of Steel, including those at Warner themselves.
We originally thought Justice League was coming our way in 2015, with spin-off character films to follow, but the news of that film being contingent of Superman’s summer success and the fact that Will Beall’s script was reportedly terrible, means all bets are off in terms of any timetable for that film.
The latest in the DC saga comes from Batman On Film who reports that not only is Justice League being pushed back even further, but we may see a full Superman trilogy and a Batman reboot before ever seeing the entire League together on film.
A source close to Warner told BOF that despite the struggles Justice League is having, Batman will still be rebooted, potentially very soon. Check out that quote below.
“Don’t worry about the Batman [film] franchise, it’s [Warner Bros.’] most valuable [DC Comics-based] asset. I believe that they are now looking at introducing [the rebooted] Batman in a solo film, though that will likely take place later than they initially planned. They are extremely worried how [the Batman film franchise] would be affected if Justice League bombs…and rightfully so.”
The only thing I could see in terms of negative effects for Batman if Justice League bombed would be the need to recast the character for the reboot as opposed to keeping the same actor from Justice League. Other than that, I really don’t get what there is to be so worried about.
It seems to me that Warner is being overly apprehensive about the success of the rest of the DC properties. If a quality director is found, and a proper script is put in place, there is no reason why this film won’t be a success. Simply follow the example that Marvel set with The Avengers and it’s at least going to be a box office hit. However, if Warner does wait too long, the casual fans who are fired up after Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy may be lost. Now is the time Warner. Make it happen already!
Warner’s apprehensiveness isn’t the only disturbing news in BOF’s report. Even worse is the possibility of Warner “hanging their hat” on the Superman franchise for nearly a decade. Check out that quote below.
“If Superman is huge, then they’ve bought themselves some time and will have a franchise to hang their hat on for seven, eight years. The need for Batman won’t be as great, and [the reboot] of that franchise can wait until the Superman trilogy is done.”
I must say that I don’t agree with that statement at all. While fans of comics and of DC may be content with some awesome Superman films, many people that make up the general audience became a fan of Batman due to Nolan’s trilogy, and those fans aren’t going to rush to the theaters for a Superman film. As excited as I am about Man Of Steel, I’m fully aware that the utter failure of the recent Superman films may have completely turned some casual comic fans off of the character. The conception of many less versed in Superman lore is that the character is completely invincible and thus boring.
If Man Of Steel is indeed a hit, then maybe more fans will turn out to see the rest of the proposed trilogy, but regardless, the studio will definitely be in a better position if it actually puts out Justice League and a Batman reboot than if it’s content to ride Superman for a decade. Even another go at Green Lantern would be welcome at this point.
This is an age where fans want a complete world from their franchises. Marvel is doing it, and it looks like Star Wars will take the same approach. As a fan of DC, I’d hate to see them miss out on this ripe opportunity to get films for even some of their lesser-known characters. Hell, Ant-Man is getting his own movie, and in a world where Ant-Man has a film, it’s unacceptable that the Flash doesn’t.
What do you think of this news regarding Justice League? Would Warner be better off releasing a Batman reboot first, or would you rather see the group film before any more individual character films? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.