With the dawn of a new year come rumors about Warner Brothers' speculated "Justice League" film, which the studio has committed to beginning production of as 2012 came to a close. An obvious response to Marvel Studios/Disney's "THE AVENGERS" grossing $1.5 billion worldwide, this will be the first movement towards a Justice League film since 2007-2008 (ironically, the year "IRON MAN" debuted). Naturally, this means that rumors will be rising out of the woodwork, and how much is true will be sorted out by time.
Latino Review has cited two major spoilers or rumors regarding the film. The first cites the supposed villain for the piece is Darkseid, a character created by Jack Kirby for his NEW GODS franchise in 1970 who has since been attached to Superman and the Justice League in subsequent comics and TV animation. The second claims that the script by Will Beall will be loosely based on JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #183-185 involving a plot to destroy the earth by Darkseid. These rumors could have some weight considering that Darkseid was the main villain in the first arc of the New 52 relaunch of JUSTICE LEAGUE by DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee and chief creative officer Geoff Johns. The villain was also rumored back in 2005-2008 when the last go at this film was made; ultimately the villain of that film was to be the "Brother Eye" satellite system made by Batman to watch over superheroes, and an army of One Man Army Corps (OMAC) cyborgs - which in 2006 was a current story. Alas, after the appearance of Thanos in "THE AVENGERS", the appearance of Darkseid could be seen as imitation by some audiences.
The latest rumor has been listed by Cosmic Book News regarding a potential team roster. Much like with Darkseid, it also has a parallel to the Johns/Lee JUSTICE LEAGUE from last year. Naturally, the roster would be Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and the Flash. Supposedly Zack Synder's "MAN OF STEEL" film will take part in similar continuity, as did "GREEN LANTERN"; a potential Wonder Woman film could springboard from this. It may appear that WB will take an opposite strategy than Marvel Studios; using a team film to launch several solo hero films rather than vice versa. Considering these are considered the "big seven" members of the league for over a dozen years now, this roster could have some weight. The dilemma of using Hal Jordan is that it would create a cast without a lot of diversity, even if such things didn't slow down "THE AVENGERS". As 2013 continues on and with the debut date of 2015 gets closer, expect more developments to separate the facts from the rumors. Alas, too much of WB's strategy relies on "MAN OF STEEL" going well and without investing five years of time like Marvel Studios did, which could prove to be a major hurdle.
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