The Longbox: Comic Book Casting: The Justice League

Superhero movies have taken over cinemas across the globe.  Marvel Studios hit the ground running with 2008’s Iron Man and culminated with the 3rd highest grossing film of all time, 2012’s The Avengers. Marvel has figured out the formula and shows no signs of slowing down.  With the exception of Chris Nolan’s Batman trilogy, DC Comics has “screwed the pooch” so to speak in handling their pantheon of heroes and villains.  The less we speak about Green Lantern, Jonah Hex, and Superman Returns, the better off we will be.  In the summer of 2013,  DC and Warner Brothers will try to capture Marvel’s magic with the release of Man of Steel.  This reboot of the Superman franchise may lead into a Justice League flick.  Warner Brothers then wants to use Justice League as a catalyst to spin the other major DC characters into their own films.  With no set cast (except the rumored return of Henry Cavill as Superman), here’s what I’d like see happen and the cast I think would be great.

The Idea:

Warner Bros cannot simply copy what Marvel did with The Avengers.  They need to stick with the tone of Man of Steel. The idea of a blockbuster action movie is out of the question, not that it must be completely dark and gritty. They need to make a movie that introduces all of the major players and doesn’t focus on just Superman or Batman.  I’d like to see drama, action, and little humor. As far as the plot goes, there have been some great Justice League stories throughout recent history, but you’re going to need a threat big enough that one hero can’t handle it alone.  A good old alien invasion always works.  You could use Brainiac, The White Martians, or even Darksied.  I think Brainiac would be the way to go.  He’s one threat can take on all members of the League at once.  They could write a really dark and creepy version of him, as well (think Alien or Prometheus).  Brainiac is so dangerous because he is a cold, uncaring alien.  He shows no emotion.  Brainiac’s goal is to collect the Earth’s information and resources, leaving it a used up husk of a planet.  There are so many ways for the League to come together, but I like the idea of Batman working behind the scenes to coordinate the team – the chess player moving pieces on the board.  That would be a fun movie.