In a follow-up article to the news this past week that Warner Bros are thundering through development on a "Justice League" movie, Variety strongly hints that Chris Nolan will be approached with the job of spearheading the movies. The British helmer, who delivers the final chapter in his Batman trilogy next month with "The Dark Knight Rises", is already the Executive Producer of next year's Superman reboot "Man of Steel". Unofficially his role in that saga is as "The Godfather", as he developed his "Batman Begins" writer David Goyer's pitch for a new Superman redo and got the film greenlit at Warner Bros where other directors had failed. He also has had a strong voice in the creative/marketing direction of the reboot. That is the clout Nolan has at WB thanks to his Batman movies and "Inception". Nolan was the one who recommended director Zack Snyder (Watchmen, Sucker Punch) helm the reboot and further to that, Variety claim that it is by the decree of Nolan that only one official image from "Man of Steel" has hit the net so far. He wants the movie to be purposefully and slowly built up before a flurry of material at certain points, similar to how 'The Dark Knight Rises" pre-release marketing has worked. There has been much talk of footage being screened at the San Diego Comic Con next month and I imagine that the very first teaser trailer will be attached to "The Dark Knight Rises". Is this going to be the first step towards a JLA movie then? Again Variety is light on details but does strongly hint that "Man of Steel" could be the first drop in the ocean for a JLA movie with further "Green Lantern" movies (either as a reboot of what went before, which seems a mistake, or with Ryan Reynolds in continuity) and potential "Wonder Woman" and "The Flash" movies being tied in. They key quote is this one;
According to sources close to the development process, the studio learned that when making a superhero pic, it needs to tap creatives that genuinely understand the characters the way Joss Whedon was comfortable with "The Avengers."
So that's one figure who basically overseas and "Godfather's" the situation. This would include the hiring of talent on the other movies they have in development, that Variety name as thus; Aquaman, Green Arrow, Lobo, the Suicide Squad and Shazam. Add to that, we already know that Nolan and his wife/producer Emma Thomas will act as executive producers to the rebooting of Batman that will come after this summer's spectacular. None of this means of course that Chris Nolan is directing "Justice League" or will have as much creative decision making as Joss Whedon on "The Avengers" but it does indicate he will have HUGE involvement and that will no doubt please fans who might be concerned over DC's approach with this, considering their recent films made without Nolan's involvement. Either way, the situation is expected to be clearer after "The Dark Knight Rises" has left theaters;
Warner Bros. isn't expected to make any concrete moves on the DC film front until after the third Batpic opens on July 20. Putting so much power in Nolan's hands is an interesting move -- especially as the filmmaker does not have a first-look deal at the studio.