Justice League: all the updates, trailers and commentary on DC’s superhero team-up film

“Where is Superman?”

That question haunted Justice League’s marketing campaign, as millions of people (or possibly just me) obsessively wondered where the Man of Steel was in the film. Now that Justice League is here, we finally know the answer to that question, and it turns out that it’s simultaneously more and less interesting than we imagined.

This past weekend, Justice League finally landed in theaters. The movie was meant to be Warner Bros.’ answer to The Avengers; the crowning achievement of the DC Extended Universe. But those plans hit some speed bumps along the way. Batman v. Superman wasn’t the level of hit the studio was hoping for, and Suicide Squad was disastrous on a critical and financial level. Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins did deliver the kind of cultural-zeitgeist blockbuster the studio was looking for, but she did it by ditching the style, tone, and storyline the previous DC films had all been built upon. Then, in perhaps the most drastic blow of all, Justice League director Zack Snyder stepped down earlier this year for personal reasons, leaving Joss Whedon in charge of reshoots and finishing the film.

Now that audiences have finally seen the DC superheroes team up, we’re going to sit down and chat about the good, the bad, and the lovingly-photographed-in-impossibly-slow-motion of Justice League.

It’s probably a mistake to ascribe any sort of grand strategy to Justice League, Warner Brothers’ latest superhero film made in conjunction with DC Entertainment. The film is necessarily a clash of multiple personal visions and multiple corporate ones: original director Zack Snyder stepped down from the film after a family suicide, and Joss Whedon stepped in to complete the movie, stitching together Snyder’s footage via months of extra reshoots to add character-building and comedy. And Warner certainly had to be aware that Snyder’s grand scheme for the DC Extended Universe — DC’s rushed attempt to catch up with Marvel’s nearly decade-old movie franchise — has been unpopular with critics and has underperformed with fans, until Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins stepped in with a film that matched the color scheme of Snyder’s films with a lighter tone and a more human outlook. The pressure to follow Wonder Woman’s example (or at the very least, to insert more Wonder Woman into Justice League) must have been fierce, after that movie’s success in the wake of the derisive response to DC’s Suicide Squad. Justice League does feel like a film with too many hands pulling in too many directions.

But it’s still tempting to see it as a test balloon for DC, as a straw poll for superhero fans, asking, “What do you really want to see in a superhero movie in 2017?” Because the film goes in so many tonal and narrative directions, it feels like a grab bag anyone can reach into and fish around in for something to their personal tastes, from dramatic themes to offhand banter, from mindless pummel-fests to thoughtful conversations about heroic responsibility. Justice League isn’t an entirely coherent film, but it’s certainly an egalitarian one. And if anyone’s tracking what individual viewers respond to — which moments they most call out on social media, which bits get the most attention in reviews — DC could potentially learn a lot about where to pivot next. The company is already ponderously turning its ship away from its Extended Universe plans in order to pursue more standalone films. If any of Whedon’s humor in Justice League works for crowds, or if they complain they want more of Snyder’s heavy, grimdark action, that’ll at least be another data point for DC’s future planning.

A new trailer for DC’s superhero ensemble movie Justice League has arrived, and it paints a bleak picture for the post-Superman world we were left with after the events of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. 

Superman’s death looms heavy over the trailer. It opens with Lois Lane dreaming about becoming engaged to Clark Kent in Kansas, only to wake up and find him still missing. We then get a glimpse of how the rest of the world is feeling his loss. TV newscasters say that violence, war, and terrorism is on the rise. But there’s darker things on the horizon. Bruce Wayne tells Diana Prince that he’s been dreaming of something dark coming for the world, and they begin to recruit other heroes to unite fend off the coming Parademon invasion. The trailer shows off a bit more of the battles that we’ve seen teased in other trailers. “Divided, we are not enough,” Bruce Wayne tells the other heroes, “the world needs Superman, and I made him a promise, which is why I’ve brought you together.” 

It’s no secret that DC’s cinematic universe efforts have experienced some difficulties winning the hearts of both fans and critics. The exception has been the most recent entry in the franchise: the largely standalone Wonder Woman, released earlier this year.

Now it seems that DC is learning from its past mistakes and successes. According to an extensive report by Abraham Riesman over at Vulture, Warner Bros. and DC will be deemphasizing the interconnected DC Extended Universe for future films, following a template set by Patty Jenkins’ blockbuster hit. It’s something that’s been hinted at before, with reports of the standalone Joker prequel and director Matt Reeve’s conflicting statements on whether The Batman would be part of the official connected universe of films, but now DC Entertainment has made the change official.

Justice League — the DC Extended Universe’s upcoming superhero team-up movie — has spent the last few weeks filming reshoots under the guidance of Joss Whedon (who replaced original director Zack Snyder, who stepped out for personal reasons).

Variety has a new report out today detailing some of the struggles the months-long reshoot process is experiencing. Whedon is said to be working on “connective tissue” to link Snyder’s already filmed set pieces, and scheduling for actors like Ezra Miller and Henry Cavill has become increasingly problematic as reshoots continue to extend.

Warner Bros.’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con is pulling out all the stops for the DC Extended Universe. For the latest trailer for Justice League, the world is still in mourning after the death of Superman. Now, it’s up to the newly formed League to face Steppenwolf (Game of Thrones alum Ciarán Hinds) and his armies of Parademons.

Justice League is the superhero team-up Warner Bros. has been promising since the inception of the DCEU. After Superman (Henry Cavill) sacrificed himself in the fight against Doomsday in last year’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman (Ben Affleck) takes it upon himself to find other superheroes to fight otherworldly threats. That means teaming up with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). There’s even a mention of both Kryptonians and the Green Lantern Corp, even though they’re nowhere in sight. Clearly, the heroes have their work cut out for them.

Zack Snyder, who has acted as DC Comics’ directorial visionary on a number of its most ambitious film projects, is stepping down from Justice League due to a family tragedy. The news, announced in an interview published today by The Hollywood Reporter, means Snyder will be handing the reins over to Avengers director and writer Joss Whedon, who will ferry the project through its remaining post-production stage before its November 17th release later this year.

Snyder, whose daughter committed suicide in March at the age of 20, admits that he originally misjudged how the loss would affect his work. “In my mind, I thought it was a cathartic thing to go back to work, to just bury myself and see if that was way through it,” Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter. “The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all consuming. And in the last two months I’ve come to the realization… I’ve decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me. They are all having a hard time. I’m having a hard time.”

The latest trailer for Justice League came out this weekend, giving us our first good look at the upcoming DC Comics team-up. And like the first trailer, it looks pretty fun! But, despite a great showing from Jason Momoa living his Aquaman-by-way-of-Khal-Drogo life and a quip about how rich Batman is, something is noticeably missing: Henry Cavill’s Superman.

This isn’t the first time Superman has been absent from a Justice League promotion. That first look footage from San Diego Comic-Con last year? Not even a hint of Kal-El. Teaser image from January? No Superman. New batch of posters that accompanied the new trailer? The Last Son of Krypton is nowhere to be found.

Today brought us a brand-new Justice League trailer, and I’m going go out on a limb and say that I’m cautiously optimistic about where the film is heading. Now, let me be frank and say that I don’t think it’s going to be the greatest movie in the world. I still feel too burned by Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad to let myself feel too pumped about this upcoming DC superhero blowout. But this trailer provided me with someone to hang my hopes on:

Aquaman.

In the first full trailer for Justice League, the world faces a new threat, and it’s up to Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince to bring together the various heroes to save the day.

In the trailer, Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne tells Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman that there’s a threat coming, and that they have to be ready. They bring together Aquaman (Jason Momoa) The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) for what looks a movie loaded with plenty of action. There’s also some glimpses of Amy Adams’ Lois Lane and J.K. Simmons’ Commissioner Gordon.

Here at Comic-Con, director Zack Snyder debuted the first trailer for his upcoming film Justice League, and here's the shocker: it actually looks fantastic. The trailer starts with Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne, hunting down Aquaman, presumably putting together the team of warriors that Warner Bros. hopes will be its answer to The Avengers. From there, nearly all the big names get a moment to shine, including Cyborg, Wonder Woman, and The Flash. (Superman himself seems to be missing, for reasons as-of-yet unknown.)

While Man of Steel and its sequel have been largely criticized by their dour, dismal feel, Justice League seems to be taking a cue from Suicide Squad. The tone is airy and light, with each moment played more for laughs than a Snyder-ean portent of inevitable doom. In short, it makes it look like the movie could actually be fun, something that Marvel has perfected with its superhero movies, but DC and Warner Bros. have constantly struggled with. Of course, it's important to remember that Zack Snyder's films often have great trailers, and no place is better suited to hype a comic book crowd than Hall H at Comic-Con... but for the moment, we're actually looking forward to 2017.

Zack Snyder surprised Hall H at Comic-Con today by announcing he had something special for fans chomping at the bit for Justice League, next year's crossover epic. That special something is the first hi-res image of the entire Justice League united. Here we have the Flash, a smiling Superman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Aquaman assembled and ready to take on all comers. Consider us impressed. Justice League hits theaters next year.

Despite a swirl of rumors this week, the upcoming Justice League film won't have any kind of tacked on, hype-inducing addendum in its title. It's just going to be Justice League, according to DC Films' Geoff Johns. Last night, Johns tweeted confirmation that there won't be any colon or needless extra words thrown into the mix — at least as far as the first movie in this two-parter is concerned. So that shuts down rumors that DC was considering titles like Justice League: Gods Among Us, Justice League: Angels and Demons, or Justice League: You Won't Believe What Happens Next. Apparently the guy really did need to clear things up considering it's already got over 2,000 retweets.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Oscar winner J.K. Simmons has been cast as Commissioner Gordon in the upcoming Justice League films. The announcement means that Simmons, probably best known for his turn as J. Jonah Jameson in the first Spider-Man trilogy, has made a big jump from Marvel to DC, news that will probably disappoint comics fans everywhere.

In line with some early speculation, Warner Bros. has just set official release dates for two superhero blockbusters: Wonder Woman and Justice League Part One. First, Wonder Woman will premiere June 23rd, 2017, with Justice League set for a November 17th date later in the same year.

Warner Bros. has already slowly been laying the tracks for its interconnected universe of DC superhero films, which kicked off with Man of Steel in 2013. Two more will soon follow, as Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice is set for a March 25th premiere this year, and Suicide Squad is set for August 5th. Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot, will make her first appearance in Batman V. Superman, and several DC heroes will make appearances in Justice League.

DC Comics (and parent Warner Bros.) would like you to know that it, too, is 100 percent serious about creating an expansive, interconnected superhero film series. Today, the company mapped out eight films due out between now and 2019. While some of this has been known, the full scope and scheduling is a clear sign of DC wanting to take Marvel's Cinematic Universe head on.

Other movies in the works, via The Wall Street Journal's Ben Fritz, include new stand-alone Superman and Batman movies.