DC superheroes are now likely more well known than at any point in their history, as the various heroes of the DC Universe are now the leads of their own film franchise, television series, and video games. The crown jewel of the DC franchise is the superhero team the Justice League. They are the all-stars of the DC Universe, typically anchored by the trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. After years of comic book history and an animated series, they finally made their way to the big screen in 2017’s Justice League as part of the DCEU. The film had a troubled production, and after years of campaigning the film finally got a director’s cut release with 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
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Yet the Justice League almost made it to the big screen a whole decade earlier, from the visionary mind of the Mad Max series’ filmmaker, George Miller. Justice League: Mortal was planned for a summer 2009 release date and would have seen DC’s greatest heroes unite on the big screen three years before Marvel Studio would assemble their superteam in The Avengers. It would have featured a cast of then relatively unknowns who would go on to be stars with impressive filmographies.
It could have altered the entire course of DC’s future on film and might have changed the superhero movie landscape. Yet to the disappointment of many fans, it never came to be. Here is everything one needs to know about Justice League: Mortal, from its production history to its cast and story, why the movie did not happen, and the domino effect it had on the film industry.
How Justice League: Mortal Started
DC
The early 2000s saw the Marvel superhero burst onto the screen, with X-Men, Spider-Man, Blade, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Daredevil, and the Punisher characters all getting feature films. After being the dominating force in superhero movies during the 80s and ’90s with the Superman and Batman films, DC was having a slow start to the 21st century with the primary focus on adapting graphic novels like Road to Perdition and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. After a terrible first attempt with 2004’s Catwoman, the release of Batman Begins in 2005 and Superman Returns in 2006 seemed to indicate that DC was back with its two big franchises. The studio even was developing a Wonder Woman movie with Joss Whedon set to write and direct, and Batman Begins screenwriter David S. Goyer working on The Flash.
However, in 2007, following the disappointing haul of Superman Returns and the cancelation of both projects involving Wonder Woman and Flash, Warner Bros. decided to make a Justice League movie. The idea was that the studio could make spin-off films for each member of the Justice League if the movie was a hit, a reverse of the approach Marvel Studios would take with The Avengers. Hot off Thank You For Smoking and Juno, Jason Reitman was the studio’s first pick to direct, but he passed as he did not want to do a franchise movie (he would later direct Ghostbusters: Afterlife). In September 2007, George Miller signed on as the director and casting began.
Who Were the Justice League
Warner Bros.
Early on it was decided the film would not connect to the current DC films, so Brandon Routh was not asked to reprise his role as Superman nor was Christian Bale expected to play Batman. Miller opted to cast younger actors, as he wanted them to be able to grow into the roles.
The Justice League in Mortal consisted of D.J Cortana as Superman, Armie Hammer as Batman, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, Adam Brody as The Flash, Common as Green Lantern, Santiago Cabrera as Aquaman, and possibly Miller’s longtime collaborator Hugh Keays-Byrne as Martian Manhunter. Jay Baruchel was cast as the main villain, Maxwell Lord, and Tessa Palmer would play the secondary antagonist of Talia Al Ghul. Zoe Kazan was also cast as Iris West, and Anton Yelchin was cast as Wally West, who goes on to become the second Flash.
What Was Justice League: Mortal About
DCWarner Bros.
The plot of Justice League: Mortal focused on the villainous Maxwell Lord hacking into Batman’s Brother Eye Computer satellite to gain information on the weakness of various superheroes. Lord is the sole survivor of the psychic experiments birthed from the OMAC Project and now plans to use his abilities to take over the world and slaughter the metahumans that might stand in his way. The film culminates in the Justice League battling a wave of OMAC soldiers, nanotech-infected humans, in a scene very similar to the battle of New York in The Avengers which would be released years later.
It drew from a variety of comics, particularly the storyline of someone stealing information to take down the Justice League from Batman is from the Justice League storyline “Tower of Babel.” It drew heavy inspiration from many of the then-new storylines from the build-up to Infinite Crisis, particularly with the Maxwell Lord being the villain and the OMAC Project and Brother Eye satellite. It also was inspired by the storyline “Superman: Sacrifice” which sees Maxwell Lord take control of Superman to fight the Justice League. While in the comics it is Wonder Woman who kills Maxwell Lord, Justice League: Mortal makes a controversial decision to have it be by Batman’s hand.
It also features the death of Barry Allen’s Flash, straight from the Crisis on Infinite Earths event. The movie was supposed to open with a funeral, with the ending revealing it is for The Flash and ending with the setup that Wally West will become the new scarlet speedster.
Why Did the Film Get Canceled
Warner Bros. Pictures
Justice League: Mortal ran into a perfect storm of production issues. First, the movie began casting right as the 2007 Writer’s Guild of America Strike began. When the strike ended in February 2008, Miller wanted to begin filming soon, but production was delayed for three months. The film was originally set to film in Australia, but the Australian government denied Warner Bros. a 40% tax rebate as they felt they had not hired enough Australian actors despite the film consisting of an Australian crew, and three of the major stars (Gale, Palmer, and Keays-Bryne) were Australian natives. Production was quickly moved to Canada, with filming set for July 2008, and it appeared the studio would not meet their planned summer 2009 release date.
The Film’s Cancelation Had Major Impacts
Warner Bros.’s cancelation of Justice League: Mortal had a huge impact on the future of DC films, the superhero genre, and even other big movie series. The very same day that Variety ran a story revealing that Justice League: Mortal’s fate was up in the air, Warner Bros. delayed the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince back from its November 21, 2008 release to July 17, 2009. The delay happened in August 2008, just three months before the latest Harry Potter was set to hit theaters. Justice League: Mortal’s cancelation left a big gap in Warner Bros.’s summer 2009 slate, and particularly after The Dark Knight shattered records in summer 2008 the studio needed another big hit for the following year so that there would not be a massive drop-off in financial reporting.
Moving Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince cleared up that pre-Thanksgiving weekend that Twilight quickly grabbed, leaving its December 12, 2008 release. Twilight went on to become a major franchise during that weekend before Thanksgiving, a pattern that The Hunger Games quickly followed starting with Catching Fire all because Justice League: Mortal was canceled.
Had Warner Bros. released Justice League: Mortal, there is a question on if the DCEU as it exists today would ever have happened or if they would still be making spin-offs and sequels to this Justice League film. It would have been the first big screen appearance of heroes like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, and Aquaman and might have launched an entire DC Universe spinning out of it. If the movie had come out and bombed would it have shelved DC films the way Green Lantern hurt that film’s franchise potential for over a decade? Would George Miller have had time to direct the masterful Mad Max: Fury Road if he was busy with a Justice League franchise? The world will never know but Justice League: Mortal remains one of the great what if’s in superhero movies.
