The man with his fingers in many pies, Guillermo Del Toro, was on hand this Saturday at the Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Festival for a double-bill of his finest achievements. While there, he let slip a few more details about the status of his Justice League Dark script.
Del Toro turned down the opportunity to direct Justice League as he’s got about a million projects on his plate. He has however, expressed an interest in developing DC Comics’ motley crew of offbeat superheroes. As he’s the filmmaker who brought to life a glut of monsters, human to supernatural, it’s no surprise that he’s keen to delve into Justice League Dark.
From what he’s revealed so far, we know that Constantine will lead the gang through the story. Along to assist will be The Swamp Thing, Madame Xanadu, Entrigan, Deadman, Zatanna and The Floronic Man. Yesterday he said there’s more JLD favourites already in his script: “everybody that doesn’t feel like a repeat.” He wouldn’t go further so as not to spoil the film.
Will the film actually go ahead though? Del Toro’s filo-fax (why’s he got one of those? Bit eighties…) for the next few years is chock full. He’s got the possibility of a Pacific Rim sequel if that pans out, the series of his vampire book trilogy The Strain for FX, vocal recording for Pinocchio….the list goes on. If he’s not directing it, then he’s probably producing it.
The future of Justice League Dark hinges on the success of Pacific Rim no doubt. If Warner Bros. are greeted by a record-breaking opening weekend for the film, then expect JLD to move forward a bit quicker. He said yesterday: “If they [Warners] like the [script], I’ll do it; if not…” His treatment will form the basis of a full screenplay to be penned by an as-yet undisclosed writer.
Justice League Dark has adopted many titles during its development. Heaven Sent and Dark Universe are the two most commonly flung about. It’s anybody’s guess which one will stick. We’ll find out more when a screenwriter is announced. But of course, that’s providing Warner Bros. pick it up….
