Justice League Dark (Bad Robot Developing Film & TV Projects Based on Dark Property)

Despite the departure of Guillermo Del Toro, it’s now apparent that the JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK adaptation, otherwise known as DARK UNIVERSE, is moving forward under the guide of Scott Rudin. Del Toro is still staying on as a producer, though he’ll no longer direct.

Sources confirm that Rudin is moving quickly on this one, making updates to the script and approaching directors. The project is now a priority for Warner Bros., with our sources also reporting that the studio is looking to shoot the superhero team-up film in 2016. Niija Kuykendall, Nik Mavinkurve, and Jon Berg are overseeing for Warner.

Dark Universe has been in development for several years, on a different track from Warner’s other DC titles. Del Toro, who both scripted and was set to helm, proved to be a major champion for the take, which introduces a horror spin to the DC superhero universe. When Del Toro opted out this past summer in favor of Pacific Rim 2, many fans were skeptical if Dark Universe would recover, though that’s clearly not the case.

While the film’s plot has generally been kept under lock and key, we’re hearing that it involves a series of ancient tomes stolen by a madman hellbent on the destruction of humanity. When he learns of this, occult detective John Constantine seeks out a group of heroes that specialize in the mystic and arcane in order to save the world. Though the film’s heroes have not yet been announced, save for Constantine, Del Toro had mentioned that Swamp Thing, Deadman, Zatanna, and Etrigan The Demon will likely make up the team.

Dark Universe is based on the comic series Justice League Dark written by by Peter Milligan, illustrated by Mikel Janin and first published in November, 2011. The film, which would introduce both mysticism and the supernatural into DC’s Cinematic Universe, is similar in premise to another of Warner’s superhero team-up films, Suicide Squad.

Dark Universe and Suicide Squad are only the latest team-up/crossover films planned, as Justice League is still in the pipeline as well as a Blue Beetle/Booster Gold film, which has Arrow, Supergirl, and The Flash series creator Greg Berlanti behind the wheel. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the first of Warner’s DC team-up pics, releases March 25, 2016.

The group established in Dark Universe will separately co-exist with the main Justice League team, much like how Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy operate individually from the Avengers. Though, the plan is to eventually bridge the worlds and plant Dark Universe members in other DC titles.

The character of Constantine was recently introduced to audiences on the NBC series of the same name, though that series was abruptly cancelled. The character, played by Matt Ryan, will also appear this season on Arrow, but will be recast for the film. The character also appeared in a film of his own in 2005, played by Keanu Reeves.

Rudin is a prolific producer who’s known for consistently working on a library of titles from the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson, Noah Baumbach, David Fincher, Wes Anderson, Aaron Sorkin, and the Coen brothers. With his hands in dozens of projects, it’s not surprising that he’s been tapped to shepherd Warner’s ailing Dark Universe.

Rudin’s latest project, Steve Jobs, opens wide this weekend. He recently wrapped on Ben Stiller’s comedy sequel Zoolander 2 and is next starting on The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter, which stars Josh Brolin and Danny McBride.

UltimateMarvel wrote:I can't believe this is getting made sooner than JL itself. People will look at the title and possibly expect to see Superman and Batman on this. This should come out after JL: Part One.

It seems Warner Bros. are excited enough by Guillermo del Toro's script for Dark Universe, that they're interested in moving forward despite the Crimson Peak director leaving the project. Though they don't have a new director in place just yet, Latino Review has heard about several of the cast members they'd like to fill the various roles of DC's motley crew of witches, wizards, demons and dead men.

Apparently Del Toro wanted Ron Perlman for Swamp Thing and the studio like that idea, but they're also keen on Colin Farrell for John Constantine, and Monica Bellucci for Madame Xanadu. Word is Ewan McGregor has also been approached for the Constantine role, but he may "fall back on" Jason Blood, AKA Etrigan the Demon. The site also adds that they're seeking a "comedic presence" for Deadman, and an Hispanic/black actress to fill the role of Zatanna.

All with the usual grain of salt for now of course, but these are some very intriguing choices so let's hope there's some truth to it, and that the actors show interest.

The internet has been ablaze with Justice League Dark rumors lately. Initially, we heard that Colin Farrell, Ron Perlman, Monica Belluci and Ewan McGregor were all being targeted by DC for Constantine, Swamp Thing, Madame Xanadu & Etrigan the Demon respectively, then yesterday the phenomenally talented Ben Mendelsohn was tipped to the villain of the piece, Anton Arcane.

Now, the reliable folks at JoBlo have weighed in. They are claiming that the Evil Dead remake's Fede Alvarez & Big Bad Wolves duo Aharon Keshales & Navot Papushado are the studio's top choices to helm the movie. Both have a history with dark horror movies and thrillers, making them solid choices to bring to life Guillermo del Toro's screenplay (which is said to be excellent).

In fact, apparently the studio are so pleased with his script, they're pushing for production to begin as soon as early next year. If this is true, we should expect the film to be given a 2017 release date. What do you think of these directorial contenders? Are there any alternatives that come to mind (True Detective's Cary Fukunaga is a popular choice)?

Rusty Cunt wrote:Hahaha. Fucking DC.

EXCLUSIVE: I hear that Bad Robot, through its new deal at Warner Media, is exclusively developing both film and TV ideas based on DC’s Justice League Dark universe at Warner Bros.

This deal is all very nascent and at this point in time there aren’t any specific projects or characters that are being specifically developed out of the franchise. I understand that Bad Robot’s Head of Motion Pictures Hannah Minghella and Head of Television Ben Stephenson will soon be taking meetings with talent reps and their writing clients on which characters will get their own projects.

Justice League Dark (or JLD team) first appeared in the September 2011 issue of Justice League Dark #1 featuring such superheros, mostly occult and offbeat, as John Constantine, mystic and fortune teller Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Shade, the Changing Man, and Zatanna. The roster is much larger, and members joined later on, with Swamp Thing being added in issue 19. Other members of JLD include Andrew Bennett (a centuries old vampire), Black Orchid (a shapeshifter), Doctor Mist (a spy who worked for villain Felix Faust), Frankenstein (a erudite creature), Pandora (based on the Greek character), Nightmare Nurse (a healer of supernatural wounds), among several others.  Given their powers, they typically handled situations outside of the scope of the traditional Justice League, which includes Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, Aquaman and The Flash. The JLD title and team were created by Peter Milligan, with art by Mikel Janín.

Again, this is all so early, so it’s not specific yet if Bad Robot boss J.J. Abrams will be directing any of these projects. Minghella on the feature side will work with Warner Bros. President of DC-based Film Production Walter Hamada, while Stephenson will work in correlation with the Warner Bros. Television Group including President & Chief Content Officer Peter Roth, President Susan Rovner and President Brett Paul. Following the $1 billion-plus success of Disney’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Abrams is currently meeting with potential showrunners for his HBO epic sci-fi fantasy drama Demimonde. The series follows a world’s battle against a monstrous, oppressive force. It’s the first series solely created by Abrams since the 2001 ABC drama Alias.

A sampling of some JLD universe properties that were previously adapted for the screen and TV:

There was a Justice League Dark animated film made in 2017 for the home entertainment market starring Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina, and Nicholas Turturro.

The character of John Constantine was adapted into the 2005 Warner Bros. feature Constantine starring Keanu Reeves which grossed close to $231M WW. In the movie, Constantine was an exorcist and a demonologist and in the Justice League Dark comics, he’s a Liverpudlian magician who became the leader of JLD, but is then ousted and replaced by magician Zatanna. She’s been in the DC universe for some time, created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appearing in Hawkman #4 (November 1964). Constantine was also turned into a NBC series by Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer and ran for 13 episodes from October 2014 to February 2015.

To date there’s only been one Swamp Thing feature, released in 1982 and directed by Wes Craven. The DC digital service, DC Universe, ran one season of Swamp Thing, last summer which James Wan’s Atomic Monster produced, created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson.

WyldeMan wrote:

To date there’s only been one Swamp Thing feature, released in 1982 and directed by Wes Craven. The DC digital service, DC Universe, ran one season of Swamp Thing, last summer which James Wan’s Atomic Monster produced, created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson.