The upcoming Batman vs Superman is far from the first attempt at getting multiple DC heroes on screen together. A Justice League film has been talked about, dreamed about, and in 2007, nearly happened. Mad Max director George Miller was set to direct the film but due to some unfortunate events, it never happened.
If you’re one of the many fans who was dismayed that the project never got out of development, you’re in luck now, as long as you have a little imagination and don’t mind reading a script instead of watching the final product.
The screenplay for Miller’s Justice League film (called Justice League: Mortal) is now available online and can be read at Batman-News. That script was written by Kieran and Michele Mulroney, and is absolutely huge in scope. It was so huge in fact that the budget shot up over $200 million, which was part of the reason this movie never got made. You can definitely see where that money was going to go when reading the script though.
Justice League: Mortal tells the story of the seven core members of the JLA (Batman, Superman, Aquaman, the Barry Allen Flash, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and the John Stewart Green Lantern) dealing with an all-powerful satellite system that Batman arranged to spy on them. Typical Bats, never trusting anyone, is afraid that one of the other heroes will take a turn for the worst some day. This system has the power to eliminate any heroes so as to keep them from taking over the world. Of course, if hijacked, that sort of system could prove to be any even bigger danger than a crazed Superman, and sure-enough, that’s what happens here.
There are some incredible moments in this script, moments that could’ve been game changing for the comic book adaptation industry if this had actually been made back in 2007. I won’t go into any detail on those aspects here since I don’t want to spoil the story for those of you who want to read it, but if you would rather read a review with spoilers than the full script, head on over to Superhero Movie News for an in-depth look at what Miller had planned.
When this project was being discussed, it looked likely that Armie Hammer would play Batman, with D.J. Cotrona as Superman, Adam Brody as The Flash, and Megan Gale as Wonder Woman. While the first two characters of those four have already been cast for this run of Warner’s DC movies, Brody and Gale would still make solid choices to play those respective characters. Neither would be my first choice, but if they’ve been preparing for the role for the last 6 years, you’ll hear no complaints from me.
Among the other actors in consideration for the film, two still stand out to me as great choices. Jay Baruchel was set to play Maxwell Lord and Teresa Palmer would’ve been Talia al Ghul. I would have been absolutely thrilled with both of them in those roles, and I hope if either character pops up in this new run, those respective actors are at least in consideration.
What do you think of this story for a Justice League film? Is this the sort of thing you’d like to see revisited or should Warner Bros. go in another direction with it? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
