In 2011, Warner Bros. had the opportunity to kickstart its DC Cinematic Universe with a Green Lantern movie. But the Ryan Reynolds film was disappointing from all points of view, and effectively killed any additional plans the studio may have had. According to a new report, the studio hoped to create a comic book movie universe that would rival Disney’s.
During the same year in which Green Lantern was released, Warner Bros. hired Aquaman writer Will Beall to write a script for a Justice League movie that Ben Affleck would direct. As Green Lantern failed, and people described the script as a mess, Warner Bros. held back a couple of years, and then made Man of Steel.
The Wrap recently unearthed the script, which features Darkseid as the main antagonist among numerous villains, time travel, and a son for Batman and Wonder Woman. According to The Wrap, these were the main characters of the scrapped Justice League movie, and included Darkseid, Steppenwolf, Batman, Superman, KGBeast, Lex Luthor, Killer Croc, Desaad, Flash, Amanda Waller, King Faraday, Tattooed Man, Copperhead, Cheetah, Solomon Grundy, John Stewart, Hawkman, Kanjar Ro, Wonder Woman, Katma Tui, Kilowog, Guy Gardner, Salaak, Tomar-Re, Deathstroke, Huntress, Captain Boomerang, and Mercy Graves.
That’s a lot of characters. Some would have appeared in brief cameos, but still…
The Wrap reported that Darkseid orders Desaad to steal some kryptonite, and in the process, Desaad kills Killer Croc. Hawkman and Stewart intervene in an attempt to prevent the villain from weaponizing the kryptonite, but they’re defeated. After he and Batman recruit Flash, Darkseid enslaves Superman and kills the entire Green Lantern Corps (except for Stewart).
Superman escapes Darkseid and travels to the future, where he meets with Wonder Woman, Batman, their son Clark Wayne, and Lex Luthor, with the aim of ending Darkseid's reign. It’s a bit late, however, because the ruler of Apokolips has already eliminated most of Earth's population.
The future Flash travels into the past, and dies in Flash-from-the-past’s arms. The final battle between Darkseid and the Justice League, the remaining Lanterns, and the Amazons then takes place on Apokolips.
Justice League suddenly seems highly coherent, doesn't it? For a more detailed description of what might have been, click here!
