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Justice League How to fix Justice League (2017) as a film

Tg11

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We can all agree Justice League was a critical success maybe to some people but overall it was a flop for the DCEU. However, that being said how can we make this film better? How can we make it on par with Marvel's The Avengers (2012) basically strengthening our DCEU with this film...here is how I would go about it:

- Delay initial production to work on script
- Delay reshoots and by extension the film's release pushing it back all the way to 2018, 2019 or 2020 at the latest

- Not making strange technical mistakes such as the Cavill mustache using CGI there and what not; wait until Cavill finishes filming MI6 and he shaves the mustache for JL


- However, as far as how I would write the film if I were doing it:

- Film opens with Steppenwolf's invasion of Themyscira. It would pretty much be the same sequence but with differences. The differences being that on Themyscira he kills one of the Amazonians because he is in search of the Kryptonian (ie. Superman). Queen Hippolyta, Diana's mother shoots the Invasion Flame signal after Steppenwolf successfully invades Themyscira basically getting word to her daughter Diana/Wonder Woman; opening credits roll.

- Bruce/Batman then would seek out metahumans similar to the actual film. Bruce would find Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa) first who would reject his offer to join this alliance he is setting up. Bruce then would end up finding Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) himself next and Victor too would also reject Bruce's offer to join the League. Bruce then would find Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) who happily accepts Bruce's offer to join the League.

- Bruce would then meet up with 20-something Dick Grayson...Dick would be introduced in the DCEU in this film and Dick Grayson/Nightwing would be played by Dacre Montgomery. Dick on no certain terms would tell Bruce that he is not interested in working with him again. Bruce is out of luck because the only person who has joined him thus far is Barry.

- Next scene would be the shot of The Invasion Flame hitting and word would get to Diana somehow after she's been off as Wonder Woman on one of her many solo adventures (crime-fighting missions). Bruce would contact Diana and she joins the League.

- Introduction of Lex Luthor Sr; his appearance would basically be a retcon due to BVS. Lex Sr. would be played by Bryan Cranston and his son Lex Luthor, Jr. would be played by Jesse Eisenberg. Lex Sr. is pretty much a charismatic public figure in the public eye as he basically stepped into lead & save LexCorp as a company due to the events of BVS. In reality Lex Sr. is a master manipulator of the public and behind the scenes he has been weaponizing Kryptonian technology at a secret base of his. Lex Sr. is hoping to acquire alien and ancient technology with help from Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) who is basically the enforcer for the Luthors.

- Steppenwolf then shows up at Lex Luthor, Sr.'s secret base because the Kryptonian technology led him there. Steppenwolf wants to seek out Superman and Lex Sr. uses extensive knowledge of Kryptonian tech and Mother Boxes to convince Steppenwolf with the help of his idiot son Lex Jr. and Victor Stone/Cyborg to find Superman; Steppenwolf agrees.

- Next scene would be the Invasion of Atlantis with Parademons invading Atlantis and taking said Mother Box from there. The Parademons then end up kidnapping Victor/Cyborg.

- Next scene would be the mini Justice League comprised of Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash as they try to investigate strange occurrences happening all over the world due to it being caused by Steppenwolf. The 3 of them then figure out that Victor Stone/Cyborg has been kidnapped and they set out to find him.

- Lex Luthor Jr. (Jesse Eisenberg) leads his father Lex Sr. (Bryan Cranston) and Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) to the Kryptonian ship that has Superman's body. They take the body to one of the LexCorp facilities and Superman is placed in a black recovery suit.

- Batman, Wonder Woman and Flash figure out where Cyborg is and they head to the LexCorp facility that he is being held at. Once there they run into Aquaman (Jason Momoa) who is also there because he tracked the Mother Box that was being held in Atlantis there. Aquaman then joins the League and now they have 4 members.

- The 4 of them then are inside of the LexCorp facility and fight their way in to get to Victor.

- We learn that Steppenwolf has been sent to Earth by Darkseid (CGI/mo cap will be voiced by Jeff Bridges) to retrieve the Kryptonian Codex; using Luthor technology, Victor's processor and Mother Boxes Superman is reborn as the Codex is copied from Superman's DNA.

- Steppenwolf now has control of reborn Superman in black suit
- Batman, Flash, Wonder Woman and Aquaman confront Lex Luthor, Sr; Bruce wants to know why Sr. is helping Steppenwolf; Sr. says that he always chooses the winning side and knew mankind was doomed the moment Zod and the other Kryptonians showed up on Earth (ties back to the 2013 film Man of Steel).

- Justice League save Victor/Cyborg. Victor then joins the League however Steppenwolf sends mind-controlled Superman in to attack Justice League. Superman basically is dominating them one by one until all of them manage to work together long enough to restrain Superman. Bruce then uses Kryptonite to incapicate Superman not kill him.

- Steppenwolf escapes and so does Lex Sr & Lex Jr and Deathstroke. Justice League then take Superman's body back to the Kryptonian ship as his body is placed back into the water. Superman is in a coma-like stasis once again but he is not dead. Superman then has a vision of his father Jor-El (Russell Crowe) as Jor-El explains to Kal-El his true destiny/identity and purpose. With help from Victor's Mother Box Superman eventually awakens and is truly himself again no longer under Steppenwolf's control.

- Batman and Wonder Woman explain everything that Superman did but also just how bad their situation has gotten with Steppenwolf and the Luthors. Superman then meets Arthur/Aquaman, Barry/Flash and Victor/Cyborg as himself.

- Superman then tells them all about Steppenwolf's plan that since the Codex was copied he plans on creating an army of Kryptonian slaves. The JL must stop Steppenwolf not only to save Earth but the whole entire universe as a whole.

- Cyborg then informs the JL which now includes the resurrected Superman that Steppenwolf plans on returning to Apokalips using the Mother Boxes to create a portal to get back there but that he plans on doing it all at at Lex Luthor's base.

- Alfred (Jeremy Irons) shows up by means of ship along with Dick Grayson (Dacre Montgomery) who is now Nightwing. Dick then says to Bruce that he still plays by his own rules and that the reason he is here is because he is not working for Batman but will work with him to take down Steppenwolf. Basically Dick joins the JL at this point. The 7 of them head off to battle w/Steppenwolf.

- They then all end up at Luthor's secret base. Steppenwolf manages to open the portal and just as he is about to walk through it to leave Earth Superman lands right in front of him standing between him and the portal to try to stop Steppenwolf from leaving Earth with the Mother Boxes and the Codex.

- Lex Sr. shows up as he shoots Kal-El/Superman with Kryptonite; Superman is weakened considerably but he isn't killed.

- The rest of the Justice League show up and all hell breaks loose from this point on. Superman is paired off with Steppenwolf. Aquaman, Flash and Wonder Woman are fighting Parademons. Batman, Cyborg and Nightwing fight their way through the LexCorp facility to shut down the Kryptonian technology that is powering up the portal and also in essence what is weakening Superman. Batman is then paired off with Deathstroke fighting him. Nightwing protects Cyborg in order for him to be the one to break up the Mother Boxes. Superman who is weakened is struggling against Steppenwolf in their fight sequence but is managing to somewhat hold his own but for how much longer? Batman then eventually gets the better of Deathstroke defeating him as he manages to shut down the technology as Victor manages to break up the boxes as the portal is beginning to close.

- Steppenwolf realizing he can't win manages to escape through the closing portal leaving his Parademon army behind in a cowardly act.

- Lex Sr. realizing that the Justice League are about to win he decides to use his troops to help the Justice League as they all defeat the Parademons. The League then retrieve the Mother Boxes and the Codex.

- Closing moments of the film would be Lex Luthor, Sr. being publicly praised for his partnership with the Justice League. Lex Sr. managed to throw Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) under the bus framing him and the organization for their association with Steppenwolf and for LexCorp facilities being taken over by Steppenwolf because of his public figure persona.

- Film cuts to the planet Apokalips as Darkseid kills Steppenwolf for failing him. Film ends with a montage of the Justice League members returning to their own lives. Arthur returns to his lighthouse and in essence we see him return to Atlantis with the Mother Box in his possession. Barry returns to Central City to see his father Henry Allen (Billy Crudup) in prison to let him know about his new job as the forensic investigator and that he will make sure that his father gets out of prison now that he is on the force. Diana returns to her gallery/museum and we see Victor reunited with his father Dr. Silas Stone (Joe Morton).

- We then see Dick go back to his life and we see Bruce go back to his rebuilding Wayne Enterprises going back to work there. We then see Kal El as Clark Kent as he is reunited with his mother Martha Kent (Diane Lane)on the farm and we see him reunited with Lois Lane (Amy Adams).

- Final shot of the movie's ending would be Batman and Superman the 2 of them meeting up at Wayne Manor in Bruce's Batcave in their uniforms. Superman then tells Batman that the threat that we face will be back. Batman then says he knows and that this time we will be ready we all will. Batman and Superman then begin looking at files of other metahumans potential new recruits in the DCEU to join their League setting up JL2.

- Cuts to mid-credits scene which is the 7 Justice League members (Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, Superman and Nightwing) at Wayne Manor at their Roundtable as they are discussing potential new members for their Justice League.

- Credits roll...fades to black...cut to post credit scene and the post-credit scene would tease Green Lantern Corps as a film for the DCEU.
 
Definitely interested to know how you guys would have set up Justice League
 
I would have delayed filming by like a year or two, find a new writer and director, and release the movie in 2019
 
I definitely think WB made a mistake committing to Justice League going into production so soon after Batman v Superman. I know hindsight's a wonderful thing and they expected BvS to be better received than it was, but going forward when they really needed to put the brakes on, sit down, and have a very serious think about their next step was foolhardy to say the least.
 
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I would have delayed filming by like a year or two, find a new writer and director, and release the movie in 2019

Agreed. They should have waited for Zack though and made his vision bulletproof while pushing the movie back as far as possible. WB didn't want to wait and Zack wasn't up to play their game of shenanigans and whella! CGI mouth to kick off the film.

Dopes!
 
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Go back in time and make everything but casting different.
 
Go back in time and make everything but casting different.

the casting is not the problem,its the story

which was boring & generic, DC need to find better writers who able to develop rich story that make people care about them

i trust jenkins & wan for their movies, dont know about shazam
 
Justice League's problems started with Man of Steel. Warner Bros. needed to have done everything right from the start. That means:

1) Keep Zack Snyder far, FAR away from anything having to do with the DCEU.

2) Make a GOOD introductory Superman movie. Man of Steel was not it. Brighter, classic costume. More positive Superman, with Kents who raised him to be a good person and didn't try to turn him into a sociopath willing to allow a busload of children to die a horrible watery death. Give us a Superman who's faced with a difficult situation and manages to overcome it without killing anybody and without allowing vast swathes of Metropolis's population to die horrific deaths.

3) Scrap Suicide Squad. The focus should be on introducing the A-List heroes of the DCEU first, not the C-List villains.

4) Make a great solo Batman movie. One which features a Batman who's still relatively new at the role, maybe only a year or two. Definitely not a Batman who's been at it for 20 years! And naturally, Batman should not kill. He's Batman, not the Punisher.

5) Follow up with a great, fun, lighthearted, and optimistic Flash movie. Introduce the character to film audiences, and give him a proper costume, not that abomination that we saw in Justice League.

6) Reintroduce the Green Lantern Corps and do it right, have it star both Hal Jordan and John Stewart.

7) Then do a Wonder Woman solo movie. Wonder Woman was the one and only movie which DC has done right, and it's the reason why I want a soft reboot of the DCEU, in order to keep Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman movie in the continuity.

Had they had a reasonable plan and direction, their film slate could've looked like this:

2013: Superman
2014: Batman
2015: The Flash
2016: Green Lantern Corps, Superman 2
2017: Wonder Woman, Batman 2

That's about as ambitious as Marvel's film slate, which by that point would have churned out six movies, including the Avengers. 2018 could have then been the year where we get a Flash 2 and Justice League movie. And when Justice League finally rolled around? We would've already met Superman, Batman, the Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman. They could've probably pushed Justice League back a little bit and given us an Aquaman movie first. So 2019 could've been the big year introducing the Justice League, and they could've gone into that movie with the entire team fully realized in their own individual films and ready to go.

And with the proper buildup, with good movies preceding it? Justice League would've done a billion-and-a-half, easy. Probably more, considering how much Marvel has grown the audience. You can't tell me that audiences, coming off the success of Infinity War or its sequel wouldn't be excited to see the next superhero team-up in the Justice League. The very same audience that came out of Infinity War and loved it would've gleefully poured into theatres two or three months later to then watch Justice League, and it would've torn up the box office. It truly is maddening to think how Warner Bros. had potentially multiple billion dollar franchises on their hands, and they successfully screwed up every last one of those franchises. :wall:
 
Justice League's problems started with Man of Steel. Warner Bros. needed to have done everything right from the start. That means:

1) Keep Zack Snyder far, FAR away from anything having to do with the DCEU.

2) Make a GOOD introductory Superman movie. Man of Steel was not it. Brighter, classic costume. More positive Superman, with Kents who raised him to be a good person and didn't try to turn him into a sociopath willing to allow a busload of children to die a horrible watery death. Give us a Superman who's faced with a difficult situation and manages to overcome it without killing anybody and without allowing vast swathes of Metropolis's population to die horrific deaths.

3) Scrap Suicide Squad. The focus should be on introducing the A-List heroes of the DCEU first, not the C-List villains.

4) Make a great solo Batman movie. One which features a Batman who's still relatively new at the role, maybe only a year or two. Definitely not a Batman who's been at it for 20 years! And naturally, Batman should not kill. He's Batman, not the Punisher.

5) Follow up with a great, fun, lighthearted, and optimistic Flash movie. Introduce the character to film audiences, and give him a proper costume, not that abomination that we saw in Justice League.

6) Reintroduce the Green Lantern Corps and do it right, have it star both Hal Jordan and John Stewart.

7) Then do a Wonder Woman solo movie. Wonder Woman was the one and only movie which DC has done right, and it's the reason why I want a soft reboot of the DCEU, in order to keep Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman movie in the continuity.

Had they had a reasonable plan and direction, their film slate could've looked like this:

2013: Superman
2014: Batman
2015: The Flash
2016: Green Lantern Corps, Superman 2
2017: Wonder Woman, Batman 2

That's about as ambitious as Marvel's film slate, which by that point would have churned out six movies, including the Avengers. 2018 could have then been the year where we get a Flash 2 and Justice League movie. And when Justice League finally rolled around? We would've already met Superman, Batman, the Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman. They could've probably pushed Justice League back a little bit and given us an Aquaman movie first. So 2019 could've been the big year introducing the Justice League, and they could've gone into that movie with the entire team fully realized in their own individual films and ready to go.

And with the proper buildup, with good movies preceding it? Justice League would've done a billion-and-a-half, easy. Probably more, considering how much Marvel has grown the audience. You can't tell me that audiences, coming off the success of Infinity War or its sequel wouldn't be excited to see the next superhero team-up in the Justice League. The very same audience that came out of Infinity War and loved it would've gleefully poured into theatres two or three months later to then watch Justice League, and it would've torn up the box office. It truly is maddening to think how Warner Bros. had potentially multiple billion dollar franchises on their hands, and they successfully screwed up every last one of those franchises. :wall:

Perfect approach to take but would you have incorporated mid and post credit scenes in each of those films basically building up to Justice League
 
However, the way I wrote the JL movie I think that that would be certainly better than what we got
 
Perfect approach to take but would you have incorporated mid and post credit scenes in each of those films basically building up to Justice League

This is a bingo for me and it always pops in my mind every once in awhile. If DC was to copy Marvel at anything, it should have been the mid-credit scenes to build hype, especially with Man of Steel. I remember every theater I went to, people sat through the post-credits and groaned afterwards. It was around my third viewing I finally told people there was nothing and they still stayed lol. The audience was conditioned for that to get hyped and get excited for what was next and it never came.

Missed opportunity. I don't care what anyone says. Include the Kryptonite being delivered to Wayne Manor as a post-credit in MoS and people would have went bonkers.
 
I still think it was almost impossible to make a good JL film when they killed off this “pre-mature” Superman, because it meant they had to spend time to both bring Superman back and satisfactorily conclude his character arc, as well as setting up a complex new villain and threat, introducing three new heroes and bringing together a team. That is far, far too much for one film to do.

But, I think the simplest way to make this a workable film would have been to reshape the villain and plot and slightly rearrange the story.

1. Batman recruits Flash first, and his mentoring of Barry (based on their similar tragedies) is the heart of the film.

2. Cyborg is introduced saving Lois from Superman cultists. Lois is still trying to do what she’s always done, and her interaction with Cyborg reflects her first interaction with Steel. He then has his conversation with Silas in the apartment.

3. Diana fights Superman cultists in Paris, and they warn her that the Amazonians will fall first.

4. The Themyscira fight progresses toward the site of the mother box, not away from it, and Steppenwolf emerges from a pit of the underworld (not a boom tube) after the Amazonians have been fighting parademons, not before.

5. Steppenwolf is the former ruler of Apokolips who was defeated by the Old Gods (not the “three races”) and imprisoned in Tartarus on Earth. He wants to unite the mother boxes, resurrect Superman, and turn Earth into his own Apokolips so that he can wrest his throne back from the “usurper” Darkseid, his nephew.

6. Bruce goes to recruit Arthur only after his learns that Atlantis is real and recognizes Arthur as one. He sends Diana to recruit Victor only after he learns about the mother boxes from Diana and recognizes the mother box from the Lex/OS files.

7. Arthur meets with Vulko, not Mera, after the Atlantis fight and Vulko gives him the armor and an Atlantean spear (not a quindent).

8. Batman and Cyborg go to Stryker’s Island Penitentiary to secure Lex before Steppenwolf’s parademons find him, while Wonder Woman and Flash go underground to rescue the Star Labs scientists; Lex tells Steppenwolf about Superman’s true identity and resting place. Arthur rescues the team from Steppenwolf.

9. After Victor secures the mother box, Bruce has Barry and Victor bring Clark’s body to the scout ship. Batman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman hold off an attack by Knightmare regime soldiers while Flash and Cyborg bring Superman, clothed in a black and silver skin suit, back to life. Steppenwolf shows up and takes him away, with the final mother box, in a boom tube.

10. The final fight takes place at an abandoned plant on the Black Sea (here, because Arthur needs an appropriate environment to showcase his actual abilities). Steppenwolf pours the energy of the mother boxes into a fire pit that will make Earth look like the barren Knightmare hellscape (not whatever it was we got in JL). The final battle reflects the Knightmare, with parademons, regime soldiers, helicopters and Superman guarding the mother box like a silent, brainwashed drone.

11. After the League fights its way to the central tower, the League fights Superman, who is under the influence of the mother boxes. Flash leads him away from the fight while Cyborg tries to separate the boxes. Steppenwolf emerges and fights Wonder Woman while Aquaman and Batman take on his forces. Eventually Superman returns and beats the League, choking Batman as in the film, as the mother boxes merge (causing the red skies). Then Alfred flies in a Batwing with Lois, who gets through to Superman. Angered, Superman turns on Steppenwolf and helps the League while Cyborg decides to feed the energy into himself.

12. Cue JL ending scenes. Clark and Bruce talk at Kent Farm. Bruce, Diana and Clark, not Alfred, enter Wayne Manor. Clark being here helps to concisely conclude his arc while establishing his role along with the other members of the League.

13. Lex post credits scene as in the film (but with Lex calling Superman “the alien” rather than “God.” He should be over that since he proved he can die.)

This isn’t all that different from the film we got, but I think it allows for a better prioritization of characters that I think would help the movie to feel more cohesive.
 
I still think it was almost impossible to make a good JL film when they killed off this “pre-mature” Superman, because it meant they had to spend time to both bring Superman back and satisfactorily conclude his character arc, as well as setting up a complex new villain and threat, introducing three new heroes and bringing together a team. That is far, far too much for one film to do.

But, I think the simplest way to make this a workable film would have been to reshape the villain and plot and slightly rearrange the story.

1. Batman recruits Flash first, and his mentoring of Barry (based on their similar tragedies) is the heart of the film.

2. Cyborg is introduced saving Lois from Superman cultists. Lois is still trying to do what she’s always done, and her interaction with Cyborg reflects her first interaction with Steel. He then has his conversation with Silas in the apartment.

3. Diana fights Superman cultists in Paris, and they warn her that the Amazonians will fall first.

4. The Themyscira fight progresses toward the site of the mother box, not away from it, and Steppenwolf emerges from a pit of the underworld (not a boom tube) after the Amazonians have been fighting parademons, not before.

5. Steppenwolf is the former ruler of Apokolips who was defeated by the Old Gods (not the “three races”) and imprisoned in Tartarus on Earth. He wants to unite the mother boxes, resurrect Superman, and turn Earth into his own Apokolips so that he can wrest his throne back from the “usurper” Darkseid, his nephew.

6. Bruce goes to recruit Arthur only after his learns that Atlantis is real and recognizes Arthur as one. He sends Diana to recruit Victor only after he learns about the mother boxes from Diana and recognizes the mother box from the Lex/OS files.

7. Arthur meets with Vulko, not Mera, after the Atlantis fight and Vulko gives him the armor and an Atlantean spear (not a quindent).

8. Batman and Cyborg go to Stryker’s Island Penitentiary to secure Lex before Steppenwolf’s parademons find him, while Wonder Woman and Flash go underground to rescue the Star Labs scientists; Lex tells Steppenwolf about Superman’s true identity and resting place. Arthur rescues the team from Steppenwolf.

9. After Victor secures the mother box, Bruce has Barry and Victor bring Clark’s body to the scout ship. Batman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman hold off an attack by Knightmare regime soldiers while Flash and Cyborg bring Superman, clothed in a black and silver skin suit, back to life. Steppenwolf shows up and takes him away, with the final mother box, in a boom tube.

10. The final fight takes place at an abandoned plant on the Black Sea (here, because Arthur needs an appropriate environment to showcase his actual abilities). Steppenwolf pours the energy of the mother boxes into a fire pit that will make Earth look like the barren Knightmare hellscape (not whatever it was we got in JL). The final battle reflects the Knightmare, with parademons, regime soldiers, helicopters and Superman guarding the mother box like a silent, brainwashed drone.

11. After the League fights its way to the central tower, the League fights Superman, who is under the influence of the mother boxes. Flash leads him away from the fight while Cyborg tries to separate the boxes. Steppenwolf emerges and fights Wonder Woman while Aquaman and Batman take on his forces. Eventually Superman returns and beats the League, choking Batman as in the film, as the mother boxes merge (causing the red skies). Then Alfred flies in a Batwing with Lois, who gets through to Superman. Angered, Superman turns on Steppenwolf and helps the League while Cyborg decides to feed the energy into himself.

12. Cue JL ending scenes. Clark and Bruce talk at Kent Farm. Bruce, Diana and Clark, not Alfred, enter Wayne Manor. Clark being here helps to concisely conclude his arc while establishing his role along with the other members of the League.

13. Lex post credits scene as in the film (but with Lex calling Superman “the alien” rather than “God.” He should be over that since he proved he can die.)

This isn’t all that different from the film we got, but I think it allows for a better prioritization of characters that I think would help the movie to feel more cohesive.

Perfect set up of the movie; incorporates universe building in the DCEU perfectly and the movie would have a much better third act. The movie would have a much better ending and the post credits could not only build towards JL2 but also build towards MOS2.
 
Future JL.

Aquaman solo,
Shazam featuring superman and WW,
WW 2 solo,
HQ, Black Canary & Batgirl featuring batman,
Green lantern feat superman & cyborg,
Justice League 2 (superman, batman, WW, aquaman, cyborg, shazam, green lantern vs brainiac),
Legion of doom (HQ, batgirl, black canary vs luthor, deathstroke etc).
 
Posted this in another thread, more about the lead up/DCEU as a whole, than just JL itself:

I think WB one change could have vastly improved the lead up to JL.

Now, I'll preface this by saying that I LOVED BvS UE. That said, the smart play would have probably been to drop the second climax and focused on the titular conflict. Then make MOS 2 and make THAT film focused on the Death of Superman. THEN you do his return in JL.

You get one more movie in the lead up, Superman get's ore focus with a dedicated sequel, and same for the DOS story.

Alternatively they could have done a Trinity film as a followup to BvS, which may or may not have done the DOS. A Trinity film that builds to the DOS could have also served a s a worthwhile set up to JL as well.
 
The short run time, bad CG, choppy editing, is what turned everyone off. How can you have a big bad from apolkolips and not even show darkseid?
I don't know what they were thinking, maybe they actually thought it would be a smash hit, and if they did, they have big problems.
How someone in charge could think that bad CG moustache was passable is beyond me. That was sy fy channel level of bad cg.
 
You know... I wrote a blog post about this... that I apparently never published...

I will actually start by saying that I... uh... liked Justice League. For the most part. I didn't think it was great, but I had fun with it. It was... it was fine. Not the mind-blowing, massive, incredible film it should have been, but... you know... enjoyable.

That said...

The reality is, I don't think you can fix the JL movie. The problem with it isn't the movie itself. The problem with it is the entire DC Cinematic Universe from the off. Going all the way back to Man of Steel. I actually think they should have used the TV shows to their advantage.

What I would have done was scrap Man of Steel entirely (but keep the casting). Start with Arrow. Use the show to hint at a larger universe. At some point in the first season, have a random reporter from the Daily Planet in Metropolis show up to interview Oliver Queen about his return (the reporter is not Clark Kent... maybe Jimmy Olsen... or maybe a character created explicitly for the scene/easter egg).

They can introduce Flash the same way they did, as well... maybe a bit earlier, but do it just the same. And start that TV show. Let this go for a year.

Then start worrying about the films. This is where they do the first Superman film. They can have the same title, and most of the same cast.

But they change everything else. First, it's not an origin film. They can talk about it briefly, sure. Maybe talk about Pa Kent's natural death from something like a heart attack, a stroke, cancer, or something else that Kal-El couldn't save him from (as opposed to... I don't know... something ridiculous... like a tornado). He's in his first couple months as Superman. He's just getting the hang of his Clark Kent, Daily Planet Reporter persona as well, helped along by Lois, who not only knows the truth, but (along with Martha) helped him craft the Clark Kent persona.

You know that Arrow tie-in I talked about above? We're several months past that point, but the previous reporter likes having the Central City beat, and so writes stories about the Green Arrow for the Daily Planet in Metropolis (that's your continued tie-in, making sure the audience knows there's a connection).

The story itself shouldn't be grand. Superman needs a threat, but not an apocalypse-level threat (those should be saved for superhero team-ups). They can do General Zod if they want, but I can't think of a way to change the film without it being shades of the Donner film. So maybe another villain, like Metallo? Metallo would be cool.

As for Lex... he should be in the film, but he and Clark should be friends. It's not a real friendship... they can establish that Lex and Clark were friends as kids, but then Lex finds out that Clark isn't human, and feels hurt that Clark didn't tell him.

Obviously he catches on immediately that Superman is his childhood friend, and because he doesn't like Superman, He decides to use his friendship with Clark in order to destroy Superman. Clark, of course, isn't an idiot, so he suspects Lex. But the friendship is really good for Clark's career as a reporter... Lex gets him some incredible access that not even Lois gets!. So... you could say they're using each other, in a sense. Maybe have Lex actually help Superman stop the big bad (Metallo or whoever) for his own twisted reasons. He could then admit that he knows that Clark is Superman, but he keeps Clark thinking that he's an ally (and Clark, having just been helped by Lex to defeat the villain [who wasn't killed, but banished to the Phantom Zone, or something like that], is thrown off the scent for a bit). Maybe Lex could admit to it in a way that jabs rather pointedly at the idea of glasses being a fitting disguise, allowing a humorous moment between the two and cutting through tension between them, to maybe even attempt to throw the audience off the scent.

They should also have Clark befriend a psychiatrist... who also happens to be the psychiatrist of a specific teenage girl. End the film with an exact adaption of that famous comic scene where Superman comforts said girl about to commit suicide by jumping off a roof because the psychiatrist (Clark's friend) was running late...

So they have Arrow, Flash, and Superman. They can start dropping easter eggs to Gotham, Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, etc in Arrow and Flash, leading to the next film, which I feel like should just be a live-action adaption of the animated Superman/Batman cross-over event World's Finest. The Joker should be cast to pay homage to (but not in any way copy) Mark Hamill's Joker, not to try and one-up Heath Ledger's Joker (because if they do that, they'll fail). They'll also be introducing Harley Quinn here, in her classic look.

The biggest change I'd make is that Lois would not flirt with Bruce. Instead, have Diana Prince (though not Wonder Woman) in the film. She and Bruce don't flirt, but they certainly find each other interesting. I do like the idea of Lois being incensed at the idea of Bruce Wayne, but then meeting him and deciding that he's not actually all that bad.

Batman, here, is a much younger Batman. He's only part-way through his first year, and is still more of a rumor/legend than a tangible vigilante in Gotham. But Superman, obviously, is aware of him. As is Diana (and she suspects, but isn't sure, that Bruce is Batman... part of why she's interested in him, in fact; she also recognizes that Clark is Superman almost immediately... perhaps a subtle jab at the "glasses as a disguise" thing without actually saying it).

The live-action World's Finest is otherwise the same as the animated one. Because, frankly, it was damn-near perfect. It would also finally reveal Lex as a true villain... if not to Superman, then at least to the audience (but preferably to Superman).

In the meantime, Cyborg can be established on Flash (instead of on film). They could drop hints to Green Lantern, as well as Aquaman. And start the Supergirl TV show (with Superman making very rare cameo appearances).

Then they could do Wonder Woman. I'd say they keep it almost exactly as it was... Patty Jenkins directing, Gal Gadot playing Diana Prince/Wonder Woman... the biggest change I'd make is the third act.

The big conflict between Ares and Wonder Woman isn't physical, but cerebral. Wonder Woman is forced to confront the fact that Ares has nothing to do with causing the war, and humanity's naturally violent tendencies. He's just feeding off of it. Wonder Woman accepts that... and decides to stay with, and have hope in, humanity anyways. Maybe they do end up having a physical fight, but Wonder Woman doesn't kill him... she just banishes him... maybe to the Phantom Zone. Or maybe Ares just accepts defeat and goes off to lick his wounds, as it were, and recover.

Then they do an Aquaman film. I don't know enough about Aquaman to come up with a good story for it, but it should have a small tie-in or two to the rest of the DC live-action universe (unless it's set in the past, but DC shouldn't over-use that trope).

Then they can do Justice League. But I'd argue that they should lay the groundwork in a massive TV cross-over event featuring all of the heroes established so far (including Green Lantern [one of them] and perhaps even some side heroes like Dick Grayson's Robin and Barbara Gordon's Batgirl) over 3 or 4 episodes, fighting a precursor to Brainiac, who should be the apocalypse-level villain for the Justice League film. End the film with Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Diana Prince (the three wealthiest JL members), and Clark Kent (because he's the defacto JL leader) discussing plans to build and fund a satellite in space that would serve as the Justice League's home base (insert blueprints for "The Watchtower" here).

And then they could do basically whatever they want at that point. They can utilize HBO/Netflix and TV-MA and R ratings to establish much darker/more mature heroes (but keep them flexible enough to adopt over to the PG-13 world of the other heroes). Maybe they introduce Justice League Dark (using everyone's favorite TV Constantine). At some point they lead up to storylines like Death of Superman, Knightfall (I cannot express in words how badly I want to see a live-action Az!Bat), Killing Joke, etc... and characters like Nightwing, Jason Todd's Robin (who's eventually killed by the Joker), Barbara Gordon obviously becoming Oracle (I actually think think they should be very careful about that in a Killing Joke film... hints are better than explicit portrayals), Martian Manhunter, the Question, the Hunter, Gotham Sirens, etc... and other team-ups like Teen Titans, Green Lantern Corps, etc. All of it leading up to... I don't know... something like Crisis on Infinite Earths, only Darkseid is the big villain to cause it?

Take risks with directors, make sure they stay within the bounds of the universe being created, but otherwise give them free reign, take risks on new writers if creating new stories, but if using comic storylines, at least give the writers of those storylines the opportunity to help with the writing of the scripts.

I guess that's what I'd do. The screwed this up from the very beginning, IMO, so you can't really just fix Justice League...
 
I would also change the post credit scenes with the first scene being the world of Oa being introduced and the Guardians of the Universe talking about the Invasion and how the Lanterns are trying to find new recruits that being Lanterns from Earth...tease Hal and John

2nd post credit scene would still be The Legion of Doom tease but instead of Lex talking to Deathstroke he would actually be talking to...HA HA HA HA none other than The Joker
 
Hmm.

I think you need a different villain than Steppenwolf. Making him the main villain was one of the more bizarre choices that Snyder made.
 
You pretty much make a different film. Mine would have featured the white martians as the villains and introduced the Martian Manhunter.
 
The thing is tho, all we have heard is how they want to keep the TV characters separated from the big films, which was, and is, a mistake.
 
to trim away all superman / Clark Kent scenes. Superman returns should be treated independently.
 
to trim away all superman / Clark Kent scenes. Superman returns should be treated independently.
 
What are we discussing here? The solution is obvious. Let Snyder finish what he has started. His and Terrio's JL would have been an awe-inspiring soul-stirring epic superhero tale the first Justice League film deserves to be.

With the best Superman ever put on the screen...

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...and their first contact with Darkseid.

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How can we make it on par with Marvel's The Avengers
The Avengers was one of the most boring MCU films so I really wouldn't consider that as any kind of a standard. I'm still baffled by the praide it gets. It's such a plain and generic blockbuster.

But don't worry, with the course corrected DC division, you'll get plenty of these half-assed CB blockbusters.
 

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