Variously discussed over the last few years, a Justice League Dark movie could be back on the cards. According to our sources – the same ones who told us Robert Pattinson had beat out Nicholas Hoult for the Batman role, and that Black Adam will be in Shazam! 3 – the team-up movie featuring many of DC’s supernatural characters, including John Constantine and Swamp Thing could now be a reality.
What’s more is that Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers may helm the film, or possibly Doctor Sleep‘s Mike Flanagan. At the very least, we’re hearing that Warner Bros. want a horror director to take control of the project and those are two options that are apparently being looked at right now.
Of course, the idea of a Justice League Dark movie has been floating around for some time, with Guillermo del Toro once down to direct. Indeed, del Toro even had a script ready to go, one of many ultimately un-produced works from the filmmaker. A few years ago, Doug Liman seemed to be directing, but had to pull out, while Andy Muschietti was also rumored to be one of Warner Bros.’ top choices after the success of It.
The decision to bring back Justice League Dark may be due to the impact of the darker-themed Joker, and the potential audience for a more gritty DCEU movie. There’s already been an animated take on the concept of a supernatural Justice League, which we were pretty positive about back in 2017, and while a team-up movie with a mix of more eccentric characters than traditional superheroes had mileage back then after the success of Guardians of the Galaxy, presumably the response to Suicide Squad and Justice League put a dampener on Warner Bros.’ plans.
Horror-themed DCEU projects may be a significant element in the studio’s competition with Disney and Marvel though, with a reboot of Constantine also planned, as well as potential outings for fellow Justice League Dark member Zatanna. Furthermore, there could still be a solo project for Swamp Thing, as well as a House of Mystery anthology picture. From what we’ve heard, Justice League Dark remains a key part of these plans and we’ll be sure to bring you any updates on an official confirmation as we get them.