Ever since the news broke that Warner Bros. was indeed planning Justice League to feature DC’s ensemble of superheroes and contend with Marvel’s The Avengers, the film has been talked about like a sure thing. However, it turns out the film isn’t a certainty, and the studio further pursuing the project is contingent on the success of Man Of Steel.
This information comes our way from a Variety article about power shuffles at Warner. Check out the paragraph about Man Of Steel below.
Stakes are high for “Man of Steel.” Other than Nolan’s Batpics, Warners has not been able to effectively exploit the DC library. Its 2011 “Green Lantern” underperformed, and a “Justice League” film wouldn’t likely be in theaters before 2015, as Warner’s top brass has indicated that they are awaiting the results of “Man of Steel,” which opens June 14, before moving further ahead.
I’m not too worried here, as we’ve seen nothing to indicate Man Of Steel will be anything other than a hit, at least in terms of box office figures, but I understand why Warner is so wary of blindly pushing forward.
Marvel knew that they would at least have Robert Downey Jr. to anchor their film, but it’s basically certain that Christian Bale won’t be donning his cape and cowl ever again. Green Lantern was widely considered a major disappointment, so even if Ryan Reynolds does reprise the role, he won’t be a large enough pull to build a film around. That means that Henry Cavill as Superman will be the cornerstone of Justice League, and therefore, with Warners’ current plan of action, everything is riding on Man Of Steel.
Aside from the fact that Man Of Steel is going to draw huge crowds due to the current comic boom and the names that are attached to the film, I really think it looks like it’s going to be the film the character has deserved for a long time. The first trailer was intriguing, but the most recent trailer has me absolutely thrilled for this film. It’s hard to go wrong these days when Christopher Nolan is attached, and the deeper storytelling that him and David Goyer have likely brought to the film will be perfect when combined with the directorial abilities of Zack Snyder. If that team isn’t able to bring a successful Superman film to the big screen, then it may be time for Clark Kent to stick to being a journalist.
I have little doubt that Justice League will still be heading to theaters summer of 2015, but this may mean we don’t hear anything definite regarding the director until sometime this summer. If that’s true, things will likely fall into place very rapidly after that announcement, as the production of this scale of film will take quite some time.
Man Of Steel opens June 14th. Do you have any fear that it won’t be successful enough to warrant Warner continuing forward with Justice League? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.