8 Things We Learnt From The Justice League Trailer

After Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice turned out to be far from the critical darling that they were hoping for, Warner Bros. and DC had their work cut out for them with the need to win people over again in time for next year’s Justice League movie. However, with the trailer that was released this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, they might just have managed to do so. A far cry from the ominous and self-serious trailers we got for BvS, our very first look at Justice League is keen to press that this is a very different film from its predecessor. Rather than bringing superheroes together only to have them fight to the death and glower at each other, Justice League is all about them joining forces. Some of them even crack a smile occasionally. So, what exactly can we deduce about Justice League from this trailer? Quite a lot, actually. Fom the personalities of the new heroes to narrative decisions the movie will make, read on for eight things we learnt about DC’s now much-anticipated Justice League. 8) It Still Has That Zack Snyder Look What immediately hits you with the trailer is that, despite differences in the content, the look of the DC Extended Universe will remain the same. Zack Snyder’s signature washed-out colours and moody lighting, which defined Man of Steel and BvS, is not going anywhere for his third DCEU movie outing. The trailer’s opening scene, which sees Bruce searching for Aquaman in a small fishing village, could have been ripped from any other Snyder movie. Other aspects look more distinctly ‘comic book-y’ – such as the bright red of Flash’s suit or the CGI glow of Cyborg – but mostly it has a familiar visual feel to it. Snyder’s cinematic style has both its fans and its detractors, so this will be either good news or bad news depending on your personal taste. For those who don’t like it though, you can take solace in the fact that differences lie elsewhere… 7) The Tone is Much Different As mentioned above, the main aim of this trailer is to show people that Justice League will be fundamentally a whole lot more fun than either BvS or Man of Steel. After the success of the marketing campaign for Suicide Squad, this trailer follows suit by stuffing in the one liners and quips and laying a rock song over the top – on this occasion, "Icky Thump" by The White Stripes. Yes, really, there are jokes! Chiefly, the humour comes from Batman and Flash’s meeting scene, but it seems that Bruce and Diana have also got into the quipping game since the end of BvS - as they share banter in the Batcave in one sequence. Of course, these might be all of the funny scenes in the film stitched together to make a light-hearted trailer, but something tells us that WB and DC will ensure that the entire movie has a breezier tone to it. 6) Mother Boxes Are The Macguffin As was clear from Batman’s so-called Knightmare scenes in BvS, where parademons and Omega symbols appeared in a dystopian vision of the future, the big threat of the DCEU is Darkseid and his forces from the planet Apokolips. Justice League will hold back on all that, however, as it has been confirmed that Darkseid’s general Steppenwolf will be the film’s main villain. The trailer also reveals that the macguffin of the movie will be the mother boxes, cubes of Apokoliptian design that apparently landed on Earth hundreds of years ago (if the medieval warriors who find one in the trailer are anything to go by). BvS arguably threw in the foreshadowing of a wider DC cosmos at the expense of narrative clarity, so it's probably a good idea that this will be pulled back a bit for Justice League. We wouldn’t rule out a quick cameo for Darkseid somewhere in the movie, though. 5) Aquaman Is A Reluctant Team Member From casting the formidable-looking Jason Momoa to extensively reinventing (and stripping back) the character’s wardrobe, the DCEU is very keen to distance its version of Aquaman from the butt of the joke that the hero has been for years in the public consciousness. Another instance of this is that the trailer hints that the King of Atlantis will be the most abrasive Justice League member. While the promo gives the impression that the other heroes are happy to join up, Bruce informs Diana that Arthur Curry said no (“more or less”). He’s also seen – gasp! – chugging down alcohol. Thankfully, Bruce says that he “can talk to fish,” so at least some things have stayed the same. 4) Cyborg Is Stoic Another Justice League-r who seems to have been significantly revised for the movie is Victor Stone AKA Cyborg. The character is probably most known to audiences for being a main player on the Teen Titans animated series, where he was a generally jolly, good-natured hero. In Justice League, however, his humour circuit does not seem to be wired up properly. Curiously, we don’t see much of Cyborg in the trailer, but what we are shown portrays him as very stoic and emotionless. This is at odds with what has previously been said by producers that Flash and Cyborg would provide most of the comedy in the DCEU. Perhaps Cyborg’s lack of humour could provide laughs when paired with the goofiness of the Flash, but there isn’t anything to suggest that here. 3) The Flash Is An Awkward Loner One of the most exciting things about the trailer is that it gives us our first proper look at Ezra Miller as the Flash. With Grant Gustin already playing the Scarlet Speedster to massive acclaim on TV, Miller arguably has the biggest task of all the JL cast as he has to compete with another currently running incarnation. The DCEU’s take on the character is not so much The CW’s charming leading man and more a socially-awkward yet brilliant loner. A highlight is when he jumps at Batman’s offer to join a metahuman alliance (they need a catchier name). Why? Because he needs some friends. Many have noted how the scene closely resembles Spider-Man’s introduction in Captain America: Civil War – right down to a superhero billionaire already knowing his secret. This is presumably a coincidence but, even if it isn’t, Spidey’s triumphant debut in the MCU is not a bad point of inspiration. 2) Bruce Has Cleaned Himself Up Along with the new tone and style of Justice League, BvS’s presentation of Bruce Wayne has also undergone a revamp. When we first met him, Batfleck was a depressed alcoholic who was clearly in a very dark place (possibly because of the death of Robin at the hands of the Joker). For Justice League, though, he seems to have a much brighter outlook on life. He’s now (in most scenes) clean-shaven, not afraid to crack a smile and instead of trying to kill his fellow superheroes he wants to put a band together. His awkward interactions with Barry Allen and his banter with Wonder Woman really show how much the character has developed since the end of Batman V Superman. Clearly, Superman’s supposed death has had a big effect on the man behind the Bat and has got him to clear up his act. 1) But Batman Is The Same It is standard practice in comic book cinema for superheroes to change up their outfits with each new movie appearance. Sometimes it makes narrative sense - like how Tony Stark continually upgrades his armour - or it could be for merchandising reasons and toy appeal – see George Clooney’s ever-changing wardrobe as Batman. Justice League’s Dark Knight looks set to break the pattern, however, as his appearance in this trailer shows him in pretty much the same batsuit as he wore in BvS (though it might be slighter darker). Contrary to his lightening of personality as Bruce Wayne, the persona of Batman still looks to be as gruff as ever. That makes a lot sense for DC, as Ben Affleck’s performance in BvS was one of the few universally well-received aspects about the film. Keeping the character steady in Justice LEague – though probably reducing his murderous tendencies – is definitely a good move.