In the finished film, McKinless' face was replaced with that of David Thewlis using special effects; Thewlis received the credit as Ares. [76] In April 2014, it was announced that Zack Snyder would also direct Goyer's Justice League script. A third Justice League movie would then have featured the heroes in their final stand against Darkseid and Apokolips. The project was cancelled following production delays and budgetary concerns despite the principal roles having been already cast. After all, Ben Affleck is no longer Batman and Cavil appears to only be cameoing as Superman for now, so that's already two major characters that wouldn't be the same as before, making a direct sequel unlikely. The attempt was foiled by a unified alliance including the Olympian Gods, Amazons, Atlanteans, mankind, and extraterrestrial beings. All the plodding, gray, generic action of a Snyder film with stabs of Whedonian humor that almost never feel organic. [40] The Australian Film Commission had a say with casting choices, giving way for George Miller to cast Gale, Palmer and Keays-Bryne, all Australian natives. "I'd heard similar things from separate sources over the last year as well, I also heard that Snyder's rough-cut of the movie was 'unwatchable' (a word that jumped out at me because it's rare you hear two separate sources use exactly the same adjective). The universe is separate from Nolan and Goyer's work on The Dark Knight trilogy, although Nolan was still involved as an executive producer for Batman v Superman. "I think they should make a sequel to this movie someday, that would be amazing," he joked at the end of the credits. The film was initially titled Justice League Part One, with a second film (under the name Justice League Part Two) intended to follow in 2019. "[162] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". In October 2012, following its legal victory over Joe Shuster's estate for the rights to Superman, Warner Bros. announced that it planned to move ahead with the Justice League film. It was reported that Warner Bros. held a footage summit for writers that include Joss Whedon, Wonder Woman writer Allan Heinberg, Seth Grahame-Smith, and Andrea Berloff. Justice League premiered in Beijing on October 26, 2017, and was released in the United States in 4DX, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D on November 17, 2017. Superhero fans are a ridiculously powerful market; they deserve better than this. Justice League arrives with three major characters who haven't previously been introduced. [188] In December, however, Snyder posted a photo in his Vero account, which showed boxes with tapes labeled "Z.S. Justice League is a 2017 American superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name. It was an ambitious plan that never really came close to happening, and the Justice League that was released ended in a very different way with the League successful against Steppenwolf. [100][110][111] The company also did not opt to delay the film's release despite the fact that there had been numerous problems in post-production, so that the executives would receive their cash bonuses before the company's merger with AT&T. On the verge of being killed by Superman, Batman enacts his contingency plan: Lois Lane. Principal photography took place from April to October 2016. Warner Bros. and Miller wanted to start filming immediately,[63] but production was pushed back three months. [73] Goyer stated that should Green Lantern appear in a future installment, it would be a rebooted version of the character, unconnected to the 2011 film. This shared continuity became increasingly complex with multiple worlds, including a similar team of all-star superheroes formed in the 1960s named the Justice League of America, debuting The Brave and the Bold Volume 1 #28. "Clearing up any misconceptions -- the Justice League movie is called "Justice League. After all, the long awaited Snyder Cut is heading to HBO Max. [89] Johns confirmed on June 3, 2016 that the title of the film is Justice League,[90] and later stated that the film would be "hopeful and optimistic" in comparison to previous DC Extended Universe (DCEU) films. They have been far more successful, both with critics and at the box office. The rest is an overlong smack-down between our heroes and possibly the worst villain ever to appear in a comic book picture. Wayne decides to use the Mother Box to resurrect Superman, not only to help them fight off Steppenwolf's invasion but also to restore hope to mankind. Additional filming took place in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles; and Djúpavík, in the Westfjords[84] of Iceland. [31] Other scenes that were filmed, but cut from the theatrical film, include: Ryan Zheng as Ryan Choi, setting up the character's future as The Atom;[32] a fight between Ares and Darkseid, with the villain portrayed by Ray Porter;[33] Harry Lennix reprising his role from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman as Calvin Swanwick, in a scene where it would have been revealed that his character is actually J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter;[34] and scenes featuring Darkseid's servant DeSaad, with the character voiced by Peter Guinness. With an estimated production budget of $300 million, Justice League is one of the most expensive films ever made. [131] Later after the film's release, Superman was finally included in a new alternate version of the theatrical poster. "[166], Bilge Ebiri of the Village Voice similarly gave it a positive review: "... action scenes start and stop and then start again, then go in different directions, and it was a few moments into the Big Climactic Face-Off before I realized we'd arrived at the Big Climactic Face-Off. [citation needed] Its Japan premiere took place on November 20, 2017 in Tokyo, with only Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher from the main cast attending. After the battle, Bruce and Diana agree to set up a base of operations for the team, with room for more members. Miller had intended to cast younger actors, as he wanted them to "grow" into their roles over the course of several films. Either way, a new Justice League sequel looks a long way off. Despite his character being hidden from promotional materials, Cavill still joined the rest of the cast on the film's press tour. [197] Shortly after the release of Justice League, Henry Cavill stated that he was under contract with Warner Bros. to play Superman for one more film. A sequel was originally scheduled to be released in June 2019[79] but was subsequently delayed to accommodate the release for The Batman. Joe Manganiello and Jesse Eisenberg appear uncredited in a post-credits scene as Slade Wilson / Deathstroke and Lex Luthor, respectively. It's not just a sequel—it's an act of franchise penance. During filming, it was reported that the rewrites by Geoff Johns caused issues with Chris Terrio and Warner Bros. executives. Labs employees are kidnapped by Steppenwolf, who is seeking the Mother Box protected by mankind. [81] Although Justice League was initially announced as a two-part film, with the second part set for release two years after the first, Snyder stated in June 2016 that they would be two distinct, separate films and not one film split into two parts, both being stand-alone stories. [95][96][97], In May 2017, Snyder stepped down from directorial duties during post-production of the film to properly deal with the death of his daughter, Autumn Snyder.