Celebrity Interview: Has DC Earned a Justice League Film?
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| © 2017 Warner Brothers |
By April Walsh, @AprilMWalsh, contributing writer for www.LegendaryWomen.org.
The answer is
complicated. I’ve gone on before about Marvel and
their formula. Each hero gets a film, with or without cameos from the others,
then they come together for a big, splashy thrill ride. Yes, it’s a formula,
but it’s one that works at the ticket window and wins points with fans. So,
when DC came along and announced their plans, many fans were skeptical and
comparing the DC Extended Universe unfavorably to the Marvel Cinematic
Universe.
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| Ben Affleck as Batman in JUSTICE LEAGUE. © 2017 Warner Brothers |
It was fair. Man of Steel was good enough,
but Batman V. Superman was a mess.
Ben Affleck’s retired, grizzled Batman was not
established before we met him. That’s not to say he didn’t do a good job with
the character, possibly way better than expected, but that film had its work
cut out for it. With too many threads to weave together, it was a crowded mess
with many moments that bordered on unintentional comedy.
Then came Wonder Woman. I remember writing, before
it came out, that it really needed to be good or this franchise would be dead,
upcoming Justice League or no.
Luckily, it was. It had a good plot, interesting characters, great action, and
it remains the best female superhero movie — not that it had much competition
as all other feature films were critical and commercial flops. It was
definitely a win for women hoping to see more kickass ladies on their screens,
but was it a win for DC fans and this franchise going forward?
If I were to
describe the feeling around Justice
League, it’s a mix of hope and fear. We want
to think Wonder Woman’s success
signals an upward trend in plot, script, general quality. But we also fear that
crowding five big name heroes into one film will leave all of them
under-served. Only Superman and Wonder Woman have had their own films, Batman
arguably had a half-fil, but The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman were only seen in
glimpses in BvS and Suicide Squad. No, I haven’t forgotten that film. It was also a big old mess with only
some redeeming moments, but I think Wonder
Woman won enough good will that fans are willing to overlook it as an
unrelated side-trip while still hoping the new JL film will fulfill all their
hopes and dreams.
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| The JUSTICE LEAGUE. © 2017 Warner Brothers |
One
thing that gives me a glimmer of hope in all this is that they pulled in some
outside help for the script and, in my opinion, they called in the ultimate
script doctor: Joss Whedon! I’m an unrepentant fangirl for Joss Whedon. The man co-wrote Toy Story, made The
Avengers and its sequel, not to mention helming the most under-appreciated
show of its time, Buffy the Vampire
Slayer. I’m very happy that Director Zack Snyder brought him in to
fix up the script, add more lightness and humor, and that Whedon took the
director’s chair for the remainder of the shoot and some reshoots.
I
am less happy for the circumstances surrounding it, that of Zack Snyder losing
his daughter, but he trusted Whedon to finish his work and, obviously, many
fans also trust Whedon. That’s not to say that Snyder’s grittier, more grounded
superhero ideas have no merit. Despite some flaws, I thought Man Of Steel was very easy to leap into from the real
world. But he lacks the levity and humor that comes to Whedon so easily even in
the midst of horror and violence. I would recommend that Snyder, when he’s
ready to work again, keeps Whedon around in later films to balance out the tone.
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| Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck & Gal Gadot in JUSTICE LEAGUE. ©2017 Warner Brothers |
Off course, Zack Snyder does have loyal fans as well and
Gal Gadot AKA Wonder Women is there to reassure them. “This is Zack Snyder’s movie,” Gadot said to Empire
Magazine. “Joss only did a few weeks of reshoots. He was Zack’s guy and knew
exactly what he wanted to get.” She also wanted to allay their fears about the
tone. “Justice League is not a dark or heavy movie. It doesn’t have the weight
that Batman v. Superman had.” Also,
as much as her film was the biggest critical hit of the group, she doesn’t want
you to think that means she’ll be casting a shadow on the other heroes. “Diana
serves as the glue of the team. She finds moments to support every one of the
team and makes them feel stronger or believe in themselves, but this is not a
Wonder Woman movie.” [1]
That’s not to say she is
off on the sidelines, as Gadot told Us Weekly, “She’s grown up — it’s been a
century, after all! She’ll bring her specific qualities to a group dynamic, and
she understands the enemy better than anyone else.” As for Batman, he’ll
struggle with the group dynamic, according to Affleck, even though he is the
one who helps put them all together. “In Batman V Superman, he was at the end of his rope. But in Justice League he’s finding hope again.
He has to open up and play well with others. He knows he needs them,” Ben
Affleck told Us Weekly. [2]
Affleck also addressed concerns
about the tone of the previous film. “I can understand people saying it was too
dark, or this was outside the tone of what I’m used to seeing with a Batman
story, and I think that’s a fair criticism,” he told Deadline. But he felt that
was where it needed to start before lightening up, that Snyder “wanted to make
a movie that was more fun, that was a little bit light, that wasn’t so
encumbered with heavy melodrama.” [3] He thinks that Whedon was a good choice
to fulfill that. “He’s
a good storyteller, full stop.,” Affleck said further to Empire Magazine. “In
mid-stream, Joss got on and part of what interested him was the puzzle aspect
of it, fitting in pieces that weren’t there yet. He put the rest of the pieces
in and gave it his own imprimatur. Joss came in and walked a very fine line
between Zack’s sensibility, tone, and direction. We found a really fun and
inspiring synthesis of their two forms of storytelling. I was so glad everyone
showed up to work for Zack.” [1]
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| Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash in JUSTICE LEAGUE. ©2017 Warner Brothers |
As
for what’s in store for Bats, as said above, he will struggle to allow others
into his mission, even while being the one recruiting them. “He’s sort of the
ultimate loner,” Affleck told Us Weekly, “but he’s really trying to make it
work and develop a good relationship with all of them. He might be a mentor to
The Flash.” [2]
As for The Flash, Ezra Miller is excited to explore
the relationship between Batman AKA Brice Wayne and Barry Allen.
"I think it's the relationship
between someone who is naive and excited and someone who is experienced and
jaded," Miller told IGN. "Bruce, the aged Batman, is everything that
being a superhero means you could become, in terms of being pretty shut down
and having seen all this horror. He's like a veteran of this struggle against
evil. And Barry is just getting into it, and it seems exciting! And very fun!
And so, I think they have a lot to learn from each other, like in any great
friendship. I think it's a fascinating relationship." [4] More than that,
Miller is just happy to be in the gang. “I
love this gang of weirdos,” he told People. “We’re all very different humans
and we really love each other through and through. I personally always feel
that the goodness of what we create interpersonally on a set flows into the
quantum fabric of the film.” [5]
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| Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg in JUSTICE LEAGUE. ©2017 Warner Brothers |
While
there’s excitement for the interactions between Batman and The Flash, there’s
also some hype for The Flash mixing with Cyborg AKA Victor Stone. Ray Fisher
will be playing the half-robot who will become The JL’s chief strategist and
mission commander. I always enjoy his no-nonsense ways, especially when paired
with the irreverent Flash. In this film, Fisher says there will be a bond
between them. “Well, Cyborg and The Flash, they do get their powers as a result
of accidents and that bonds them in a very specific way, both through the
traumas that they’ve had, but also due to the fact that they’re the youngest
members of the group,” he told the crowd this summer at San Diego Comic Con.
“What I think works is that you have all these characters that have been
dealing with their personal issues who come together, for lack of a better
term, come together and are able to use those circumstances to save the world.” [6]
For
me personally, one of the more exciting casting choices was Jason Momoa as
Arthur Curry/Aquaman. Growing up, Aquaman was always the most corny to me. From
the outfit to the blond hair to the fact that his big powers are swimming fast
and talking to fish, he always seemed almost silly next to serious Batman,
brooding Cyborg, and the hilarious Flash. And I was never that into his
on-again/off-again romance with Wonder Woman, who seemed out of his league to
me. But with Momoa… it all works.
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| Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman in JUSTICE LEAGUE. © 2017 Warner Brothers |
From the muscles
to the beard to the epic eyebrows to the sunbleached hair (rather than full-on
blonde) to the sheer size of the man, to his surfing skills, he radiates badass
and now I’m kind of rooting for a little
flirtation between Arthur Curry and Diana Prince. No word on whether that will
happen, but a girl can dream.
Of
course, they are playing it coy about Henry Cavill’s Superman.
“I’m afraid I can’t talk about it,” he recently told Men’s Fitness Magazine.
“In fact, I’m sure there’s someone waiting just outside my house in case they
overhear me say something. Then I’ll be shuffled off involuntarily.” [7] But we
all know he was filming reshoots in London and much was made of the fact that
he had grown a mustache for Mission:
Impossible 6, that has to be erased in post-production by CGI. He hasn’t been at the panels or on the publicity tour. We all know
he’s coming back, but no one wants to spoil just how. I’m fine with being
surprised, so long as it’s entertaining.
As for another thing that gives me hope, Danny Elfman
will be scoring the film, working with Junkie XL, who previously worked on BvS and gave Wonder Woman her theme. This is Elfman’s
first time scoring a DC film since his iconic score for 1989’s Batman. Justice League also stars Amy Adams and Jeremy Irons
reprising their roles as Lois Lane and Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha
Kent, Jesse Eisenberg will also be appearing as the now-imprisoned Lex Luthor
(hopefully with a more subdued performance), and Connie Nielsen will be putting
on Hippolyta’s armor again. New to the cast is
Ciaran Hinds in a motion capture performance as villain Steppenwolf, Willem
Dafoe as one of Aquaman’s advisors, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, and
Joe Morton as Silas Stone, Victor’s father.
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| Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot & Ray Fisher in JUSTICE LEAGUE. © 2017 Warner Brothers |
An Aquaman solo
film is already filming and slated for 2018 with some good casting choices
(Nicole Kidman, Willem Dafoe, among others) and one following Shazam is in pre-production
as well as films in development for Cyborg, Flash and another for Wonder Woman.
Nothing is for sure yet, though. I think execs are waiting to see how this film
does before committing the time and money to compete with Marvel.
Back to my
original question, though: Has DC earned this? Not in full. Though there was
some narrative sense between the first two films, I’d rather have them gone on to give each hero a solo movie
before putting them together this way. But we still want it to be good because
we care about these characters, we want to see them on our screens as long as
they do what they’re meant to do, which is entertain and
inspire us. I guess I’m just another DC fan, joining the hordes with a very
simple plea: Please be good!
Justice League opens November 17th and is rated PG-13
for “intense
sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destruction, and for some language.”
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