After much bumping about, Warner has finally confirmed that it will push ahead with Justice League for a 2009 release.
The movie nearly went into production before the writers' strike, with cast and crew apparently even waiting on location for the greenlight, but was then shelved indefinitely over script dissatisfaction. Kieran and Michele Mulroney are now polishing the script, expected to turn in a final draft in a few weeks, and director George Miller is in pre-production in Australia.
The shift in production was said to have allowed the options on the cast to expire, but, since the studio is not opting for stars here, there should be little problem getting them back. Adam Brody will play the Flash; rapper Common will Green Lantern; Armie Hammer (baking soda toothpaste) Jr will play Batman and Megan Gale takes on Wonderwoman. Further casting is still unofficial, but there are lots of rumours.
Comic book fans, particularly fans of the Batman and Superman franchises, which continue with separate movies with different casts, have not been entirely supportive of this movie. So Warner may have a tougher time with this release than they might expect for such an apparent home run. The wait for a good script suggests that they're very keen to get it right and not risk shooting two of their biggest properties in the foot, as well as potentially derailing spin-off Flash and Wonder Woman movies, both of which have been long discussed. They have a lot riding on this.
How do you feel about this movie finally going into production? Excited? Not so much?