The announcement in early 2007 that Warner Bros. had commissioned
writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney to write a movie version of the Justice League
was met by many with a raised eyebrow, belief that this was just
another in a long list of splashy announcements (Flash, Green Lantern,
Wonder Woman, etc.) that wouldn't amount to anything more than Internet
chatter, and questions of what this would mean for the revived Batman
and Superman franchises starring, respectively, Christian Bale and
Brandon Routh.
But then something bizarre happened: there was
actually a follow-up report with the studio announcing its delight with
the resulting screenplay, which in itself was followed up by a seeming
push for the project. Rumors hit the 'Net -- George Miller (the Mad Max trilogy, Happy Feet)
being announced as director, the shift from pure live action to a
motion capture CG film, to growing reports -- despite claims to the
contary from just about everyone -- that Smallville's Tom
Welling was being courted to play Superman in the film; and word that
production will begin in Australia in the first quarter of 2008 in an
effort to beat a potential Writer's Guild strike.
Will Justice League
actually reach theatres in 2009? At this point that's anyone's guess,
but the signs are certainly indicating that it will, and as a result
there's a building excitement around DC Comic's long-running superhero
team, aided in no small way by the amazing accomplishments of Bruce
Timm and company on the animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, Brad Meltzer's successful run on the revived Justice League comic, and the forthcoming made for DVD animated adaptation of Justice League: The New Frontier.