DC Comics’ cinematic universe has been hit and miss to-date as it attempts to pull together a unified movie construct to include its big name characters. The latest installment in the series was Wonder Woman, which will arrived during summer 2017 to both critical acclaim and big box office audiences. However its biggest challenge will be the linchpin release that is Justice League (2017).
Where Wonder Women has already landed as an impressive standalone origin story for Diana Prince and her whip flicking alter ego, Justice League has the task of stringing it all together effectively to deliver DC Comics’ superhero team to the big screen. This is far easier said than done, especially with the mixed reviews for both Suicide Squad and Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, which should act as a closer indicator for what to expect from the next big step in the delivery of fighting force in all its glory to a cinema near you.
UK release date
We’re getting closer to the cinematic debut of the film, which has a UK release date of Friday the 17th November 2017. It’s the same date as it’s planned to arrive in the US, so we were initially expecting things to shift around a little before it comes out over here, but it’s turned out to be unchanged for both regions. It’ll be out in the UK on the same weekend as gritty crime drama Good Time and comedy Ingrid Goes West.
Based on the cinematic release date, the film won’t be out on DVD and Blu-ray until March 2018 in the UK.
Story
With threats all around, and the memories of Zod’s attack in Man Of Steel and Lex Luther’s childish shenanigans in Dawn Of Justice, Batman sets about assembling a team of superheroes, having picked up on a number of gifted individuals. In addition to himself, Superman and Wonder Woman, he’s also on the trail of Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg and with the sinister forces of Steppenwolf on the warpath they’re going to have their work cut out for them.
The plot sounds like it’s going to be based heavily on the comic book work of Jack Kirby for DC Comics during the early 1970s. In his Fourth World New Gods series he introduced the powers of Apokolips, an alien planet ruled by Darkseid, with Steppenwolf as one of his loyal commander. While The Justice League was created by Gardner Fox, it looks like the film is going in the direction of an eventual introduction of Kirby’s Darkseid, which could be cool.
The new DC Universe has had a mixed reception, but we’re starting to appreciate its efforts to explore some of the lesser known story arcs in its history. Doomsday didn’t really work out as well as it could have done at the end of Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, but it was cool to see him getting some screen time, which should pave the way for much more development beyond the current run of films. Hopefully, Steppenwolf will take things to the next level, and maybe eventually we’ll get to see Darkseid in a DC movie too.
Read our review of Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice
Justice League movie posters:
Cast
Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Ben Affleck (The Accountant) and Henry Cavill (Sand Castle) will be back as Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman and they’ll be joined by Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Ezra Miller (Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them) and newcomer Ray Fisher as Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg. Amy Adams (Arrival), Jeremy Irons (Assassin’s Creed) and Jesse Eisenberg (American Ultra) also reprise their roles as Lois Lane, Alfred Penniworth and Lex Luthor.
The most recent member of the cast list is Ciaran Hinds (Hitman: Agent 47), who will play Steppenwolf. According to an interview with The Independent, he didn’t read any of the comics when he was a kid, so it’s going to be interesting to see how he portrays the role.
Age rating
Justice League (2017) has been given an age of 12A in the UK by the BBFC with “moderate fantasy violence”.
Justice League (2017) teaser trailer:
Production
Zack Snyder has directed the majority of the film, having headed up both Man Of Steel and Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice. However, he has recently left the production due to a family bereavement, passing the baton on to Joss Whedon for the remaining filming and post production.
For more on the production, including behind the scenes pics, you can check out Zack Snyder’s official Twitter page.
First impressions
We’re torn. On paper Justice League should be one of the most exciting films out in 2017, but the result of Zack Snyder’s previous efforts haven’t been sublime, so it could end up being another high potential outing that goes on to disappoint as much as it delights. The visual direction on Cyborg and Flash don’t really impress in the teaser trailer above, which is a shame because the rest of the superheroes look very cool.
We’re expecting it to be a bit hit and miss, but hoping for something special when the release date rolls around. Gal Gadot has done very well in Wonder Woman and we’re expecting Jason Momoa to do the same in Aquaman, so the cast could work out being the strongest element of the film.
Check out the full trailer to see more of the film in action. You can also see Ciaran Hinds as Steppenwolf in the official Heroes trailer below, and you can read more about the Justice League comics at DC.
