Well, this is disappointing news. According to THR, Justice League Dark is the latest of Guillermo del Toro’s projects to fall by the wayside. Following the announcement that several upcoming Vertigo comics adaptations – like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman – were shifting from Warner Brothers’ plate to New Line’s, del Toro has officially stepped away from his supernatural DC pet project, which is actually something he suggested might happen back in April.
No reason for del Toro’s exit was given, as the report simply states that, while the director is still hard at work on developing a sequel to Pacific Rim and fine-tuning his upcoming horror film Crimson Peak, he is “no longer attached” to Justice League Dark.
This isn’t just disappointing news for fans of del Toro’s work; this could potentially mean that JLD – which has yet to get an official greenlight and remains absent from WB’s current DC Comics film slate – never sees the light of day, as del Toro seemed to be the driving creative force behind it. There is definitely fan interest in seeing characters like Swamp Thing, Zatanna, Etrigan the Demon and John Constantine team up on the big screen and tackle the dark side of the DC cinematic universe, but it may not be a top priority at Warner Brothers.
Yes, the studio has put a lot of stake in a project like Suicide Squad, but the rest of the DC slate is occupied by top-tier characters like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, Shazam, Cyborg and Green Lantern. Those films all connect directly with WB’s plans for two Justice League team-up films – which is not something that can be said of Justice League Dark despite the fact that del Toro planned for it to exist in the same universe.
Of course, the future of the DC slate beyond the already-announced ten films is unclear (after all, solo Batman and Superman films are supposedly on the table but are not currently on the schedule), but without an interested party like del Toro to move it along, Justice League Dark may unfortunately get pushed by the wayside in favor of more recognizable (and bankable) properties.
Of course, that’s mere speculation on my part. We’ll just have to sit back and see what happens to the film from here. It still remains under WB’s control despite the New Line/Vertigo shuffle, so perhaps it’ll rise from the ashes eventually.
Tell us, would you like to see Justice League Dark without Guillermo del Toro? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below.
