I know I'd buy a ticket, but is the world really ready for a 'Justice League Dark' movie?

Credit: DC Comics

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Here we are with the newest frontier in entertainment reporting.  Now we are reporting at the moment that someone is ready to walk into the room to pitch a project.  There was the story last week about the pitch for a remake of "The Stooge" starring Roger Rabbit and Mickey Mouse at Disney, and I think there's more to say about that this week, but that's all it was… a pitch.  The studio hadn't made a decision yet, and in the case of Guillermo Del Toro's proposed "dark DC" movie, currently titled "Heaven Sent," it's also true that no decisions have been made yet.

Instead, today's story is that Del Toro is now ready to present his version of the story to the studio to see if this is something they want to to continue to develop or if it's too esoteric.  Right now, Warner Bros is taking a ton of heat over the way they're making decisions about the superhero properties they own, but I'll give them credit for at least taking occasional chances in development.  I am a huge fan of "Galaxy Quest," and the script by Robert Gordon is one of the best comedy scripts of the last 20 years.  Gordon has not had the huge career I expected when I first read "Galaxy Quest," but he has written a few unproduced gems, the best of which was "Bizarro," which is exactly what it sounds like.  He told a Superman story in which Superman only appeared for about three pages, and the entire rest of the film was about Bizarro's time on Earth doing his best to be Superman, mangling the task in every possible way.  It is a hell of a read, and I would have loved to have seen it.  I get why they didn't make it, but it would have been glorious to see trailers for a "Bizarro" movie and then listen to the general public's collective "WTF?!" every time it played.  They've also developed several different versions of a possible "Lobo" movie, and while I'm not a huge "Lobo" fan, I think it's cool that they were willing to even consider doing the character as a movie.

It was November when we first wrote about a proposed Justice League Dark film, and It was described then as a film that would combine the supernatural characters from the DC universe, using Deadman, The Spectre, Constantine, Zatanna, and Swamp Thing, among others.  A horror-tinged "The Avengers"?  From Del Toro?  Count me in, sure.

The question is whether or not Warner Bros sees this as a cash cow or a huge risk.  I know one thing… Guillermo is amazing at pitching, and if anyone can sell that idea in the room, he can.  I've heard the story of his "Blade 2" pitch from three different people who were in that room, and it sounds like it was legendary.  I'm not sure if he's working on this story with someone or if he's the one who cracked the story, but whatever the case, if he feels ready to make his case to the studio, he must like what he's got.  Right now, the studio would love to be making more movies with their DC characters, and if they think there's a good movie to be made, I'll bet they pull the trigger.  It can't hurt that he's pitching this film to a room full of people that have presumably already seen "Pacific Rim."

Things could be turning around for Warner and DC as a partnership very soon if all the buzz I'm hearing on "Man Of Steel" is correct.  It's an exciting summer ahead, and if "Heaven Sent" gets its greenlight, I'll be excited to see that one as well.

"Man Of Steel" opens June 14, 2013.
"Pacific Rim" opens July 11, 2013.

Drew McWeeny
Film Editor

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A respected critic and commentator for fifteen years, Drew McWeeny helped create the online film community as "Moriarty" at Ain't It Cool News, and now proudly leads two budding Film Nerds in their ongoing movie education.