5. He Would Bring An Outsider's Touch
When asked about his interest in helming a Comic Book Movie, Hooper had this to say:
"...there is something in a comic book drama that you get to build a world from the ground up and follow a vision through physically, which I think is exciting. I don't know, we'll have to see."
So, there's clearly some sort of interest. But it doesn't exactly scream passionate fan, so like Nolan with Batman or even Sam Mendes with James Bond, interested as they are it's not like they're diehard nerds. So Hooper can step back and not get so wrapped up in the rich mythology of the characters that he's afraid to "kill his darlings" or lace to film with easter eggs or continuity references to distracting levels. Since he isn't a conventional choice and nothing in his films defines him as someone obsessed with special-effects blockbusters, he can come at the material with a different approach to someone more engaged with this side of popular culture, such as Zack Snyder or Joss Whedon. Much like Nolan did with his Dark Knight Trilogy- he saw it first as a way to explore the psychology of fear as well as telling a character-driven travelogue; then as a way to subtly comment on the state of America and its attitudes to terrorism as well as make an honest-to-goodness Crime Epic, a genre rarely depicted on screen in such a fashion; and finally as a way to throwback to the days of sheer crowdpleasing spectacle as well as deconstruct the flaws of Capitalism and class conflict in the western world. Quite what Hooper would bring to the Justice League is a little harder to say, as he hasn't yet had a chance to play on such a large playing field. But his films seem to focus on the world at certain points in history, and the people who inhabit them, and how they react to events happening around them. Of course Hooper's worked in the present day with Longford and Red Dust as well as the likes of Eastenders and Byker Grove (what other CBM director can boast that?), but I'd love to see what he does with a group of aliens and super-powered beings in a world like that created by Nolan and even Snyder to some extent- both of these films focus on how a world not unlike ours reacts to flying aliens and masked vigilantes. Based on his work, Hooper is to some extent politically and socially conscious, so he seems more likely to balance out the special effects and relationships between the team members with some sort of statement on the world we live in today and who we are as a society, even if it inevitably gets watered down by the studio system. I can't speak for the man or what his intentions would be should he direct Justice League, but this seems the direction he could take.