Everything You Need To Know About Justice League

Justice League In Cinema

Warner Bros. has been making attempts to bring Justice League to the big screen for many years, and most significantly, since 2007. In what was supposedly intended to be the launch of a giant inter-connected web of DC franchises, the studio began to develop Justice League: Mortal with director George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road) at the helm. Casting took place, and included D.J Cotrona (From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series) as Superman, Armie Hammer (The Man From U.N.C.L.E) as Batman, Megan Gale (Mad Max: Fury Road) as Wonder Woman, Teresa Palmer (Warm Bodies) as Talia al Ghul, Adam Brody (The O.C) as The Flash, Common (Selma) as Green Lantern, and Jay Baruchel (Robocop) as Maxwell Lord. It was rumoured that Martian Manhunter would also appear.

After many delays for numerous reasons, Justice League: Mortal was cancelled, and the plan for Warner Bros. giant superhero franchise was re-drawn, and re-launched after the box office success of 2013’s Man Of Steel. Uniting a creative team consisting of director-producer Zack Snyder, producer Charles Roven, writer David S. Goyer, and Academy Award winning writer Chris Terrio, Warner Bros. forged ahead with Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice – the second film in its emerging cinematic universe. As the title suggests, this film opens the door to DC’s flagship superhero team, laying the foundation for future instalments.

With Henry Cavill reprising his role as Superman, other Justice League team members here include Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg. While the presence of The Flash in the film has not been confirmed, a later standalone Flash movie is scheduled for release with Ezra Miller cast in the title role. In addition, while a later standalone Green Lantern movie is apparently planned for 2020, there is no official word yet on who might play that role, giving strong indication that this character does not explicitly feature in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice – something that is, in itself, an interesting development.

The presence of Cyborg confirms that, much like other planned standalone movies in this DC cinematic universe, the narrative of Justice League will largely follow The New 52 iteration of the team, which may have implications for the storyline in the franchise. While the original story of Justice League had the heroes unite against an Appelaxian invasion, for example, the 2011 reboot saw the inciting threat arrive in the form of Darkseid and his Parademons.

The Parademons are a central part of The New 52 origin story of Cyborg (also known as Victor Stone). They spring forth from an alien ‘Mother Box’ that is being examined by Stone’s scientist father in his lab, and they lay waste to much of the facility, and to Victor. His father attempts to save him using the world’s most advanced technologies, eventually turning him into a cyborg.

He is inextricably linked to the energy of the Mother Box, however, and uncovers the invasion plans of Darkseid – the megalomaniac ruler of Apokolips, who is determined to conquer the universe. Cyborg’s ability to harness the technology of the Mother Box leads to him being deposited at the location where the Justice League membership is engaged in battle with countless parademons, so Cyborg joins the team and helps save the day.