By: Scott Johnson on September 16, 2012
There’s been a lot of talk recently about Warner Bros. doing a Justice League movie. It does definitely make sense that Warner Bros. would want to eventually do a Justice League movie given the success of The Avengers, but what proof do we have that Warner Bros. is actually actively moving forward on a Justice League movie?
The whole idea that a Justice League movie was imminent really took off when Variety reported that Warner Bros. was considering Ben Affleck to direct just such a movie. Deadline quickly countered that they already knew this, but they hadn’t bothered reporting it because Ben Affleck’s reps had already said that he turned it down. Regardless of if you wanted to believe Variety or Deadline in regards to Ben Affleck directing the Justice League, the bigger message was that two of the biggest and most respected entertainment sites on the Internet were both agreeing that Warner Bros. was actively talking to directors about a Justice League movie. With this information, many begin speculating that a Justice League movie could hit the big screen as early as 2015 to go head-to-head with The Avengers 2.
However, when the Toronto Sun asked Ben Affleck about Justice League, he said, “I’m not working on the Justice League. One of the problems with entertainment web sites is that they need to fill pages, and that’s how rumours get started.” While this left some interpretation open to if he had been asked and turned it down, Canada.com soon clarified that Ben Affleck confirmed at the Toronto International Film Festival that he had never even been asked to direct Justice League.
If Ben Affleck was never approached by Warner Bros. to direct the Justice League movie, then you have to wonder if the rumors about The Wachowskis and Brett Ratner have any validity as well. One would think that given Ben Affleck’s rising status as a director, he would have at least been approached before some of the others that have been rumored to be tied to the project.
Could it be that a Justice League movie isn’t as close as recent reports might have led many to believe? Maybe Justice League is something Warner Bros. is thinking about, but they haven’t actively had a chance to start approaching directors and actors. Maybe the Lobo movie is really where Warner Bros is focusing all their efforts right now. At least with the Lobo movie, Dwayne Johnson has admitted to being in talks for the lead role. It might really be another four or five years before Warner Bros. is able to put all the pieces in place for something the scale of a Justice League movie.
