On the heels of Marvel's plans to release the Avengers in 2012, Warner Bros./ DC comics has just informed the public of their plans to release Justice League in 2013. Now that sounds like a dream come true to many fans who can't wait to see this long awaited project to come to fruition, to hardcore DC comic fans this sounds like it might be one of those "It's too good to be true so it probably is" examples. Also recent comments by Zack Snyder reinforces those concerns.

DC recently stated they are:  “looking at Marvel's recent success for a new way to operate.” So taken at face value, that would mean that DC is planning on following the template of Marvel franchises by introducing characters in their own movies first, and then having them all unite in this one huge mega-blockbuster cross over event that is Justice League of America. That sounds reasonable, because so far Marvels enjoying much success and the anticipation amongst not just hardcore fans but the movie industry itself is building. Avengers looks to be a smash hit. It's not a complicated formula, successful franchise characters that will build a brand, familiarity and a following added together would mean a great chance at a huge blockbuster.-- Only thing is, this is Warner Bros./DC. They've had a track record these past 20 years outside of Batman at truly smashing any remnant of logic when it comes to developing a dream movie.

When it comes to head starts, Marvel has enjoyed the mother of head starts- lapping DC twice over when it comes to introducing their characters on the international cinematic stage. The DC comics ruled the 80's motion picture era with Superman and Michael Keaton's Batman. That's it. Done. Batman Returns was so-so then two consecutive nightmares. The cinematic Marvel era started in 1998 with Blade and there was no turning back. Even with some mediocre renditions of famous Marvel Super-Heroes, Marvel has enjoyed a plethora of major motion picture releases with the likes of:

Blade (trilogy)

X-men (trilogy)

Spiderman (trilogy)

Daredevil

Hulk (twice)

Fantastic Four (twice)

Man-Thing

Ghost Rider

The Punisher (twice)

Iron-Man (twice)

Wolverine

and even Electra got her own movie!

When we look at DC comics we have:

Batman (twice)

Superman

and umm....Catwoman (which bombed and was nominated as one of the worst films ever made receiving numerous Golden Raspberry Awards).

Let's not forget the 1997 film Steel with Shaquille O'neal (nuff said).

Jonah Hex (which also bombed and was nominated for Golden Raspberry awards as well).

The Watchmen (we'll list as a DC film but we must note that the Watchmen do not exist in the main DC universe. It's a one shot adaptation of a graphic novel so they are not apart of plans.)

Do take note, someone is getting schooled here when it comes to developing motion pictures for their franchise characters. Development of the Flash, Wonder-woman, Super-man, Green Lantern have experienced development hell like no other. That being said, DC and Warner Bros. recognize when they are getting schooled and have begun to follow the blueprint left by Marvel. DC comics has it's own Cinematic Studio now, they are beginning to develop their own films on their own terms it seems. The Green Lantern is in post-production, a new Superman movie is on the fast track, Batman is also, Wonder-woman is-- coming out on television (?)- but it's okay, we'll take baby steps. Shazam is on horizon-- somewhere, out there. Justice League is on fast track with Christopher Nolan overseeing all the DC films leading to the big blockbuster, so things look promising. Right?

Not so fast. Hold on. One second. What?-- So according to Zack Snyder his Superman is not going to be the same Superman as the one we see in Justice League? Christian Bale is bolting after Dark Knight Rising and there could possibly be two different worlds separate from the other? There's a chance that even the Green Lantern played by Ryan Renolds might not be in the Justice League movie? Ugh... Double Ugh.

When asked how Superman would fit into the Justice League Mega- Movie here's what Zack Snyder's quoted as saying:

It doesn’t. Like what Chris Nolan is doing and what I’m  doing with Superman, what they’ll do with Justice League will be it’s own thing with it’s own Batman and own Superman. We’ll be over here with our movie and they kinda get to do it twice which is kinda cool.

No. It's not. Not even a little. Makes no sense.

Redundancies abound, and in so many ways this doesn't work as well as what Marvel is doing with Avengers. You want to talk about rushing a project? There you have it right there. Making up for lost time are we? What is pretty awesome is not only the Super-Heroes coming together on the big screen but also your familiarizing yourself with the performances that your favorite actor has established with this Superhero. Here with Justice League you do not know what to expect. You have nothing to work with here. I'll never get to wonder what a perticular actors take on my favorite super heroes will mix together on the big screen. This is why you keep the same actor and not change them from film to film! If not what is the point of having Christian Bale as Batman from movie to movie? Why so much talk about Toby McGuire being replaced, or Brandon Routh being in the new Superman movie? Why such a big fuss by fans about Edward Norton being replaced on the Hulk?

When you're putting a character on screen you are totally binding them with the actor that is portraying them, and we see what they become. We develop a familiarity with them. Michael Keatons Batman is totally different than Christian Bales Batman. There's something to be said about maintaining some sort of consistency.

Having Flash and Wonder-woman, or other characters spin out of the Justice League movie is just going ass backwards. It's a cross over movie without the cross over. This is like X-men then spin offs coming afterwards. Xmen is not a cross over film despite all the cool characters that can stand on their own in their own franchises. Justice League is a vacillation of DC's best known characters. How are you going to "vacillate" if the characters aren't known? The appeal of Justice League is the Almagam of established sovereign Super-Heroes coming together for a common cause. You won't get that sense in the movie as dramatically unless you establish it.

Who wears the costumes is as key as the costume themselves. It can make or break a film. That's the whole reason for the casting process and the search for the right person. This is no different than having a local sports team losing a franchise player every year to get replaced by another. There is a face of the franchise, someone for people to attach and develop some connection to.

I'm not saying this movie will bomb for sure, but this is definitely disconcerting developments. With the track record of what DC/ Warner bros have concerning their super hero movies, hearing this should make a fan very worried.

by Duran Rivera