While Justice League appears to have generated some disappointment at the box office, there’s no shortage of additional material accompanying the theatrical release. One such item is Justice League: The Official Collector’s Edition book, which contains a range of interviews and behind the scenes information.
In it, Superman actor Henry Cavill answers the question of whether he spent much time researching the source material before shooting the movie. Apparently, he did, and he looked to Rebirth for inspiration.
“I do indeed — especially with Rebirth, which has just come out. I’ve been really diving into that. It’s fun to see where the DC Comics Universe is going, and to see how closely our movie universe is matching it.”
This raises an interesting point. Justice League is certainly not a faithful adaptation of any single comic book story, but rather is something of a collection of plot elements from across the source material. It’s perhaps a reference to tone that Cavill makes here when he talks about the movie universe matching the comics – and, more specifically, his own character arc as the Man Of Steel.
Thus far, the actor has donned the red cape three times – each appearance depicting a specific dramatic chapter in the making of the superhero who is beloved around the world. Man Of Steel was his origin story, and saw Kal-El become Clark Kent, who then became a fledgling Superman. Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, meanwhile, saw Superman wrestle with consequence, true sacrifice and death, and Justice League sees the hero resurrected as a being who has come to terms with identity, and truly embraces it.
So, now that we have a more mature Superman, where does the character go from here within the movie universe? That’s currently unclear, but Henry Cavill confirms that he doesn’t intend on relinquishing the super-suit any time soon.
“Putting the suit on was fantastic. I love wearing that suit. No matter how warm or uncomfortable it gets. It’s the Superman suit. There’s no feeling like it. It’s a truly unique, special thing and I hope I get to do it for many more years. I’m really happy.”
The DC film universe is not exactly set in stone, though. It seems that after every new franchise entry, Warner Bros. releases a new slate, listing which films are ‘in development.’ While the previous list included Man Of Steel 2 and a Justice League sequel, those projects have vanished from the DC production plan – at least, for the time being.
As it stands, the next DC movie to follow Justice League will be Aquaman, released on December 21st, 2018, followed by Shazam! on April 5th, 2019. Wonder Woman 2 is then set for November 1st, 2019, and Green Lantern Corps also remains set for July 24th, 2020. Meanwhile, other films now listed as ‘in development’ include Flashpoint, Justice League Dark, Suicide Squad 2, Batgirl and The Batman.
