Justice League Movie: Plot, Cast & Who Should Direct
What Culture is here to give Warner Bros a shortlist of who should play who, what the storyline should be and who should helm this grossly expensive corporate cash in.
With "The Avengers" making more money in a day than the yearly output of the entire Eurozone, the movie executives at Warner Bros must be looking for a way to cash in on their similar grown-men-in-spandex comic book franchise. After many false starts and half-baked ideas, Warner Bros currently have no firm plans for a "Justice League" movie. But you have to imagine it must be coming soon given The Avengers' success. What Culture is here to give them a shortlist of who should play who, what the storyline should be and who should helm this grossly expensive corporate cash in. Its lucky they have us really, or what else would they do? Potential Plots
Justice League Does An "Avengers" Like Alien Invasion Flick According to my extensive research (wikipedia), the original incarnation of the Justice League is due to the impending threat of an Alien Invasion of Appelaxians here to conquer the world. Sound familiar? Marvel kind of has the market cornered on ludicrously outlandish tales of Alien invasions and their ensuing battle with Earths greatest heroes; although The Avengers success means that people are willing to see aliens destroyed for the good of New York (which apparently is the only place in the world according to every Hollywood disaster flick). Can Warner Bros get away with telling the same story whose success made this a necessary film for them to compete in the comic book market? Probably not. 2. Justice League Meets Video Games in a Super Human Ball-Buster
The most successful comic book franchise in history? Batman. What does it do differently? Its believable. Sure, the notion of a man running around beating people up dressed as a Bat is a little bit beyond what you normally expect in your day to day life, but why Chris Nolans films are the most successful is that they take the notions of the comic books but root them in a believable scenario with metaphors, themes and all manners of social commentary. Marvel can dazzle us with extensive CGI and humorous characters, but the reason Christopher Nolans "The Dark Knight" and potentially "The Dark Knight Rises" will be stronger because its easier for a viewer to connect with. So instead of resorting to an easy go to, Aliens! Everyone hates aliens! Watch "Independence Day!" Everyone hates aliens! Apart from ET...He's so cute...But other than that everyone hates aliens!, they could embrace Nolans style of comic book film and put it into a real scenario, only with the believability stretched slightly. What threat could they have to unite a group of superheroes? I refer you to Batman: Arkham Asylum and the Titan story arc. A gene modifier is in the hands of the Joker (on this occasion, played by Leonardo DiCaprio) who unleashes it to create huge super humans that the Justice League needs to stop before it goes all Prototype on the world. This idea would work as Green Lanterns monumental failure and critical panning may have caused a loss of faith in DCs back catalogue at Warner Bros. Centering this story around the best known and most loved comic book character would help introduce the rest of the Justice League and stop Warner Bros from having to bankroll a series of potential flop films to sort out a story for one big one. Cast
Batman
Christian Bale
This is particularly dependant on the ending of "The Dark Knight Rises", if our theories come true and Batman is destroyed by Bane, then this wouldnt be a very logical choice. However if there is an open ending in which Christian Bale is still Batman then this would be perfect. A. For the continuity and B. Christian Bale rocks as Batman. I know he isnt every ones perfect Batman because of the voice, but thats how he protects his identity, the amount of people who complain about the fact that Clark Kent taking off his glasses makes him Superman is ridiculous, but also complain about Bruce Wayne adopting another voice to protect his identity are....well....I can't really give my true opinion without upsetting a lot of people. So I'm just going to move on. Joseph Gordon-Levitt Once more, end of "The Dark Knight Rises" dependant, if my belief that Joseph Gordon-Levitts character is Dick Grayson under a different name is true, then he will be the logical Batman for this film. Which would be nice as it shows a new beginning. Joseph Gordon-Levitt rules and Bruce Wayne can be the Nick Fury character from his back broken wheelchair, which, if you don't mind me saying, is potentially the greatest idea since the wheel. Michael Fassbender
Just in case they wanted to start Batman as someone completely different, Michael Fassbender would be perfect. He was the best part about "Inglorious Basterds", "X-Men First Class" and proved he could royally kick ass in "300". Doing the line of being marketable and also an incredibly talented actor, he would be my personal choice of the next Dark Knight if they rebooted the franchise from the beginning. Superman
Henry Cavill
Like "The Avengers", continuity will be key and as Henry Cavill is preparing to send the world in to plumes of incomprehensible anger by his style of LOOK ANGRY AT ALL TIMES acting rubbing off on the audience in next years "Man Of Steel", he has every right to be included in the Justice League. Only difficulties may come from "Man Of Steel" flopping and DC needing to take a different direction with a more well known lead which could be... The Flash
Matthew Fox
He wore a mask and was in speed racer...Which is all about travelling quickly. What more could you possibly need? ...Really? Not enough? Well alright then. After anchoring "Lost" and becoming the most underappreciated actor on television behind The Honourable Prince Regent Hugh Laurie and expressionless, teenage angst quote machine Michael C Hall. Matthew Fox has stepped away from television and into a world of punching strangers and driving under the influence of alcohol (if recent press reports are to be believed). He would be a wild choice but hes a brilliant actor who has the desire to prove himself on the big screen; he could be the Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man casting of the Justice League movies. Wonder Woman
Christina Hendricks
The worlds obvious and favourite choice; the voluptuous red head sparkles in "Mad Men" and gets her head blown off in "Drive" brilliantly well. She could make a jump in to mainstream films like the internet has been telling her she should be doing. Green Lantern
Jared Leto
If we avoid any conversation of THAT Ryan Reynolds film (which I believe is what theyre doing at the Reynolds household...And Warner Bros...And the rest of the world) we can look at alternatives for a character that would need to be rebooted with a different edge. I present Jared Leto. An actor/singer who screen tested for Green Lantern first time round, he could be an outlandish choice who could take Green Lantern in a completely different direction. Making him gritty and harsh like the Nolan style of movies that Warner Bros would want this to follow. He was brilliant as a tortured, breaking down soul in Requiem for a Dream and would definitely be an alternative choice for one of the lower profile characters. Aquaman
Sam Worthington
A character I only really included in this due to the interest of fairness, and in my idea of making a believable, original Justice League movie he was the least ridiculous of a tossup between him and the Martian Manhunter. General internet consensus seems to give Sam Worthington the vote here, and he is known for turning a profit from semi-exciting action movies so would be a logical choice as a functional character. Whether he would like to take on his 8,679th movie franchise in the last week is neither here nor there, the question is whether he could pull out a character who isnt upsettingly ridiculous. Special Mentions: The Cast of The Big Bang Theory, every ones first choice for the Justice League. Director
Christopher Nolan
It would have to be wouldnt it? Im not a Nolan fan boy by any means, but I can appreciate that hes by far the best man for the job in making an ensemble super hero film which is both believable and brilliant...Even with Aquaman involved. His ensemble work with the Batman franchise, the continuity he could bring and the stories could tell would make him the only logical man to take on Joss Whedons The Avengers. There comes the fact he is pretty much owned by Warner Bros who would beg him to take all of their money to make a film which is just revolving pictures of the statue of himself made of diamond placed on Halleys Comet after the inevitable success of "The Dark Knight Rises". He could get away with a Justice League film which included Aquaman... well...Only just. What do you think? What plots would you like? Who would you like to see play who? Would you consider anybody else to direct? Let me know below!