DC’s Justice League Dark has been one of those movies stuck in development hell that just doesn’t seem to be able to catch a break. For years, Guillermo Del Toro was set to helm the film before he eventually moved on. Then, Warner Bros. managed to steal Doug Liman away from Fox’s Gambit and locked him down as director. Unfortunately, he walked out, too. Now, it seems WB are starting from scratch with the movie, including employing a new screenwriter to serve up a fresh script.
The Hashtag Show is reporting that Jon Spaihts has signed up for that aforementioned job. Based on his writing credits so far, he would seem to be the perfect candidate to showcase the supernatural, horror-infused side of the DC universe, so let’s hope this works out. He’s closely tied with Universal’s Dark Universe, too, as he provided the story for 2017’s The Mummy (but don’t blame him for the script) and is set to pen Van Helsing. Most notably, Spaihts wrote Doctor Strange, which likewise introduced magic and mysticism into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As the name suggests, Justice League Dark follows an alternate team of superheroes and anti-heroes who fight threats the regular League are not equipped to deal with – threats of an otherworldly, magical nature. Led by John Constantine, the team usually includes the likes of Zatanna, Swamp Thing, Deadman and Etrigan the Demon.
At the moment, it’s unknown just how the movie will fit in with WB’s plans for the DC Extended Universe. Previously, we’d been assured that it would take place in the same continuity as the mainline films, but recently we’ve learned that DC are launching “a new banner,” starting with a Joker origins movie. As such, we’ll just have to wait and see what form Justice League Dark will take.