Anna Daniels
George Miller’s take on Justice League began life in 2007 with a script by Michele and Kiernan Mulroney, which, according to Den of Geek, was a take that was very faithful to the source material (if a bit lightweight). By all accounts, everything was in place to begin shooting. Sets were built, costumes were clearly designed, and even the visual effects were being hashed out. The cast was set: Gale was Wonder Woman, D. J. Cotrona was Superman, Armie Hammer was Batman, Teresa Palmer was Talia al Ghul, Adam Brody was The Flash, and Jay Baruchel was the villainous Maxwell Lord. Even Common and frequent Miller collaborator Hugh Keays-Byrne were attached to the film. Studio executives were apparently happy with the script. So why did the plug get pulled at the last minute?
Ultimately, Justice League: Mortal was nixed because of a toxic cocktail of bad timing and bureaucratic blockades. Those familiar with the film and TV industry will recognize 2007 as the year members of the Writer’s Guild of America went on strike to correct the imbalance of power between studios and the people who create the worlds they profit from. The strike resulted in multiple stalled and scrapped productions — but that was only one issue.
Miller told Den of Geek that Justice League: Mortal was lined up to shoot in his native Australia, utilizing a government tax credit for films made in Australia by Australians. However, at some point during pre-production, the board awarding those credits saw an upheaval. The new members didn’t want to give money to a film made in Australia, but that had nothing to do with the country itself. Combine all that with the studio’s nervous disposition about the fact that an all-new cast of superheroes would be unleashed in the midst of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy and the (eventually canceled) sequel to Superman Returns, potentially confusing audiences, and the once-promising film went the way of James Cameron’s Spider-Man: in the trash.
Written by: Looper
