LOTR approach to Justice League movie?

[mos]

Much of the fandom is suggesting that the approach to a Justice League movie must be the same as the Marvel/Avenger's approach. But is it possible to start a Justice League movie with a trilogy already embedded in the story like the Lord of the Rings? If the first movie ended with a cliff-hanger that only Superman and Batman have escaped Darkseid's onslaught on Earth I think it will be enough hook so people will go back for more. Maybe in part two, we can have Darkseid and Mongul (or Imperiex) to further up the ante. In part three the heroes win. Do you think this approach can work so that WB will not copycat Marvel?

[zryson]

Well its an interesting question but I dont think anyone will be surprised if WB does copy the Marvel superhero forumula to bring their superheroes to the big screen since WB would be desperate to have some of that success for their own properties and that is where the real money lays. Just look how much Spider-Man has impacted the superhero genre as well as other Marvel superheroes. DC have been bringing their superheroes down to a more realistic approach to humanize their superheroes for a long time now in the comic books. Personally I think its boring that people are copying each other. Whatever happened to originality?

[zryson]

mos noticed you are new so welcome to CBR! Hope you have a great time on the forums

[Oropher]

It's an interesting point to come from, especially since the Scriptwriters have access to ALL DC Comics for it, unlike Jackson who could only use what was in the LotR novel itself, no Silmarillion and such, they could still use the solo movies as intros to the characters, that's a thing Marvel did perfectly.
And the DC Mythology ImO is bigger and broader than Marvels, i mean they still haven't used Galactus once in all their movies (the cloud doesn't count).
But will the Comic Book community like real Cliffhangers, not ''Big Bad Guy shows up at end of Movie'' like Marvel did?
Also depens on how the movies are made, if back to back like LotR and released in, at the most, a 2 year cycle from part 1 to 3, it would be cool, but not if the Time Frame is like the Dark Knight Trilogy.
Many things to consider there, but it could be a great idea.

[idlewildered]

It's an interesting point to come from, especially since the Scriptwriters have access to ALL DC Comics for it, unlike Jackson who could only use what was in the LotR novel itself, no Silmarillion and such, they could still use the solo movies as intros to the characters, that's a thing Marvel did perfectly.
And the DC Mythology ImO is bigger and broader than Marvels, i mean they still haven't used Galactus once in all their movies (the cloud doesn't count).
But will the Comic Book community like real Cliffhangers, not ''Big Bad Guy shows up at end of Movie'' like Marvel did?
Also depens on how the movies are made, if back to back like LotR and released in, at the most, a 2 year cycle from part 1 to 3, it would be cool, but not if the Time Frame is like the Dark Knight Trilogy.
Many things to consider there, but it could be a great idea.

agree with everything here. Released a year apart, or even two, would be superb for a continuous trilogy and I'd be very on board with that. If there's five year stretches between films then not for me.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

I wouldn't be against this. A three-movie arc could work.

AND BTW, welcome to the boards, mos. Enjoy your stay.

[manduck37]

A trilogy approach could work. Especially for a larger galatic style villain like Darkseid. There is a lot to explore with something like Apocalypse, Darkseid, the New Gods and the Anti-life equation that could be explored really well in a JLA trilogy. Plus it would really drive home why the world needs a League of the best heroes. You would establish that the JL isn't just one of Earth's greatest group of heroes, but the universe as a whole. It could be pretty epic.

I don't think that DC has to really copy the Marvel formula for movies. It seems to me that DC heroes have a stronger presence in pop culture than Marvel's heroes. Marvel had to do a bunch of solo movies to try to establish their heroes with the viewing audience. Spider-Man is a pop culture icon that doesn't need an introduction to the public, but how many non-comic readers really knew about Thor, Ironman or Captain America other than they were superheroes. Everyone knows the story of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman without having picked up a comic book, they are that big in pop culture. Seems to me you can do a JLA feature film without having to explain most of the heroes in solo films as the public is already very familiar with most of the team.

[LoneNecromancer]

I think it was Deviates who put this idea forwards before, and yeah, I think it's a pretty good one too.

[Coyote2010]

When I think of this approach, I think of dropping a viewer into a fully formed fantasy world without worrying about the origins. Just like Star Wars.

Sounds like Del Toro will do the same with his Supernatural Heroes movie and I think that's what will distiguish DC movies from Marvel if they go with this approach. Simultaneous trilogy filmed next to each other? I hope so.

[Lexrules]

What are they going to walk to a volcano for 3 movies?

Even the trees walked in that movie....

[Zionite1]

When I think of this approach, I think of dropping a viewer into a fully formed fantasy world without worrying about the origins. Just like Star Wars.

Sounds like Del Toro will do the same with his Supernatural Heroes movie and I think that's what will distiguish DC movies from Marvel if they go with this approach. Simultaneous trilogy filmed next to each other? I hope so.

Thats pretty much what I expect them to do.also if they fim the Jl movie Lotr style it means WB can catch up with marvel quite quickly.

[DochaDocha]

The idea intrigues me. I wouldn't mind a slower development to give us a better introduction to the other heroes who need it.

[BatmanReturns]

Funnily enough I was watching the complete trilogy of 'The Lord Of The Rings' the other day, and I pretty damned enjoyed it; without doubt one of the best film-trilogy's I have ever seen. But with the previous release of 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey', I just don't like the idea of waiting consecutively for a Justice League trilogy. You see, what made LOTR special to me is the fact that all the films had already been released; waiting at least 5 years for a trilogy is going to be a tricky one.
However, I can't wait to see them(when they eventually do come out...)

[Mr. Holmes]

When I think of this approach, I think of dropping a viewer into a fully formed fantasy world without worrying about the origins. Just like Star Wars.

Agreed. I like the idea of doing an Astro City approach, though unlike AC, you would have to incorporate spectacle at least towards the second half of the movie.

As much as I would love it, I don't think they can definitively do a continuous trilogy like LOTR, because it's not a book adaptation. We don't know how well the first movie would do.

[zryson]

I think when it comes to WB doing JL they will be trying to make it as successful as possible and probably copy The Avengers formula to some extent, have a group of heroes already existing in the world and then uniting. Its supposed to be competing with The Avengers 2 after all. Its a huge ask. Not only because many of the heroes have never been onto the big screen before but also have seen not such great success in the latest forms (GL, WW, etc). If WB can pull it off, great fantastic.