Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro was at one point going to direct a Justice League Dark movie. Unfortunately, the project eventually fell apart at Warner Bros. It was coming together at a time when DC didn’t have a clear direction, which led to its downfall. Now though, del Toro has offered up new details regarding what his movie would have looked like.
On a recent episode of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, the Hellboy director was asked about the project. Del Toro has talked about it a fair amount in the past. Now that he’s clearly moved on though, he’s dishing even more details. Including, rather importantly, that Batman was involved. Here’s what he had to say about it.
“It was John Constantine, and the plot made absolute sense, perfect sense. I loved that screenplay. I was in love with that screenplay. I thought it brought everybody in effortlessly. There was a moment where Batman came in briefly. They said, ‘We need a plane,’ and he said, ‘I know a friend of mine has a plane.’ and then you were in Bruce Wayne’s office. You know I would have loved to have done that, but now I wouldn’t. The Floronic Man was one of the villains, and it was really great because Swamp Thing was very fleshed out.”
The group debuted in the pages of DC Comics in 2011 as part of the New 52 publishing initiative. Warner Bros. spent years developing a live-action take on the darker superhero team. It never came to fruition. Del Toro had finished the script but eventually departed the director’s chair. WB later hired Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) to direct. He later left as well and it fell apart entirely.
Warner Bros. did produce a pair of animated movies centered on the characters. Justice League Dark in 2017, followed by Justice League Dark: Apokolips War in 2020. For now, that’s as close as we’re going to get, it seems.
Here is the synopsis for 2017’s Justice League Dark.
“When innocent civilians begin committing unthinkable crimes across Metropolis, Gotham City and beyond, Batman must call upon mystical counterparts to eradicate this demonic threat to the planet. Enter Justice League Dark, reluctantly led by the Hellblazer himself, John Constantine. Like Batman, Constantine is a cunning, often cynical loner who is the best at his chosen profession – but quickly realizes the sinister forces plaguing the planet will require help from other supernatural alliances. Forming a new ‘league’ with sorceress Zatanna, otherworldly Deadman, and Jason Blood and his powerful alter ego Etrigan the Demon, this team of Dark Arts specialists must unravel the mystery of Earth’s supernatural plague and contend with the rising, powerful villainous forces behind the siege – before it’s too late for all of mankind.”
James Gunn and Peter Safran are currently in the midst of rebooting the DC Universe. As the heads of DC Studios, they get to decide what does and doesn’t get made. Right now they have a Swamp Thing movie in the works, but they have not announced any plans for a Justice League Dark project.
What do you think? Are you bummed Justice League Dark didn’t happen? Would you like to see Guillermo del Toro circle back to the project? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!
