Board Thread:DC Universe Discussion/@comment-3974095-20130611233337/@comment-1895174-20130722172652

I'll play devil's advocate. Batman: everyone knows who the Dark Knight is, his origins, his rogues gallery, and therefore requires no large introduction before Justice League. On the other hand, Batman's being rebooted after three years. The cynicism rebooting Spider-Man after so short a period of inactivity lead The Amazing Spider-Man to being the lowest grossing Spider-Man movie, which, given a decade of ticket price inflation, is embarrassing. Wonder Woman: she's had her own successful live-action television series, and though it was a while ago, the mainstream does still know who she is thanks to her iconic costume. Other details of her origin, i.e. Amazon warrior, Theymiscira, etc. are sketchy, but these are details that could potentially be introduced in Justice League, and picked up in a later film. There's no easy way to put this, so I'll be blunt. She's a woman, and actions movies with a female main character tend not to do well, except for ones with strong, built-in audiences like The Hunger Games or Aliens. It doesn't help that every comic book movie with a female lead so far have all flopped hard (although, to be fair, they are all terrible and deserve to have flopped hard). I don't think Wonder Woman has that great of an audience to work in its favor, and even if she does, Warner Bros. would still be wary to give any significant budget to such a risky project. Green Lantern: sure, that film was a flop, and despite whether Ryan Reynolds is cast again (I hope not and doubt it) the mainstream is acquanited with this hero. Personally, I want to see John Stewart in the role, but that's another discussion. The mainstream is acquainted with Green Lantern, and the mainstream said "no thank you". If Green Lantern does end up in a Justice League movie, he'd be persona non grata. Flash: has really not had much of a presence in the mainstream. Sure, he had that mildly-successful live-action tv series, and a large role in the Bruce Timm JL animated series, but he's yet to make a defining and lasting appearance with the mainstream. And he'd stick out like a sore thumb. Man of Steel established a tone that more serious, less humorous. While there's nothing wrong with that, I can't imagine this red speedster tonally fitting in that universe. Given his look, the campiness of his rogues gallery, and general characterization, I don't think the flash would work in anything but an action- comedy. As a sidenote, I fully support introducing the DC Cinematic Universe's (DCCU) iteration of Batman in a Superman film, because the audience knows Batman. We don't need another origin story, or another Batman standalone film, yet. We need Batman in a brand new and dynamic story type, and I think a crossover film with Man of Steel is an excellent way to do it. Especially after the mixed reactions to MoS, this guarantees everyone and their uncle will see the sequel. On the other hand, this is the sequel to Man of Steel, not just some spin-off. There have been eight or nine theatrically released Superman movies, and yet so little of the Superman lore has been explored on film. And by putting Batman in a Superman movie, they are throwing all that lore out the window. Batman is the one hero who's more popular than Superman, so you had better believe most of the press concerning the film is going to revolve around Batman. People won't go to the movie to see Superman, they're going to see Batman. At least when Iron Man 2 introduced Black Widow, they introduced a hero less popular than Iron Man. And even then, the film was criticized for precisely just that - too little Iron Man, too much SHIELD and references to the Avengers.

I can understand why WB would want a Justice League movie...actually, I can't because it is a terrible idea, and they're going about it entirely the wrong way.