While there have been plenty of rumors surrounding Warner Bros.' "Justice League" — from the (kinda obvious) lineup to the supposed plot centering on baddie Darkseid — there has been little, if any, official word on the movie. Right now, the studio is keeping their eyes firmly on their Superman reboot "Man Of Steel," and that movie could determine the future of the superhero team-up flick.
Yesterday, the movie industry was taking in the news that Kevin Tsujihara was named CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, instead of Jeff Robinov, the head of the motion picture division who was widely tipped to take the job thanks in no small part to an impressive slate during his tenure that has included Christopher Nolan's Batman films, the "Sherlock Holmes" flicks, "The Hangover" movies and "The Hobbit" trilogy. Dude knows his way around a tentpole. And while it remains to be seen if he'll bail and head over to Universal after essentially being snubbed by the corporate powers that be, Variety has an interesting little tidbit in their report on "Justice League."
The trade reveals that studio honchos are waiting to see how "Man Of Steel" performs "before moving further ahead" on "Justice League," which seems prudent. It was only seven years ago that WB failed with "Superman Returns," with the movie not making the kind of blockbuster money they might have expected, and moreover, missing the mark with many of the core demographic who couldn't roll with Bryan Singer's take on the character. And if anything, it would suggest that all those early rumors — such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt being part of the team — are just that.
Our guess? Warner Bros. want to know how big of a deal Henry Cavill will be. If audiences fall in love with his Clark Kent/Superman they would be foolish not to make him central to "Justice League." WB will also want to know if the darker tone will be something that works, and if they can apply it to Will Beall's script, and moreover, we wouldn't be at all surprised if they make another attempt to get Christopher Nolan's name in the credits somewhere as an executive producer. With both Marvel and Fox securing Joss Whedon and Mark Millar respectively to lead the creative end of their comic book movies, Warner Bros. is still sitting on their DC Comics catalog without someone to shepherd it.
So basically, while "Justice League" is still potentially slated for 2015, it's all very tentative, and the verdict on "Man On Steel" will factor into whether or not we see Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern together, kicking some ass.