Fans have been wondering about the future of Guillermo del Toro’s cinematic adaptation of the DC Comics series Justice League: Dark, since the project wasn’t included in Warner Bros.’ announcement last month of their upcoming slate of superhero movies. The movie, tentatively titled Dark Universe, has been confirmed as a work in progress since the director confirmed it back in early 2013. Since then, however, we’ve have had to make do with only occasional updates, including word that the movie would exist in its own universe and likely not cross over with the other unified DC cinematic world of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and other heroes.. When the series Constantine premiered on NBC this fall, many fans worried it might signal Warner Bros. had changed their minds about pursuing a feature film incarnation of Justice League: Dark (which isn’t a commentary on the show, which is terrific).

Well, thing just took a big leap forward. Today, the completed screenplay for Dark Universe officially went to weekend reads at Warner Bros. The studio’s reactions to the script will be coming back in a few days, and the film could take another step toward production if Warner has a favorable opinion of what they see on the page. The director confirmed the script’s completion and status while I chatted with him about his FX horror series The Strain (watch for that article coming in a few days, dear readers!).

One of many projects on filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's slate is the film adaptation of the DC Comics "Dark Universe" titles which sport a "Justice League"-style team-up of DC heroes, albeit the more supernatural ones of that comic universe.

Whilst there has been plenty of speculation about the film, we don't know which characters are set to appear in it as yet and casting has yet to begin. Even so, del Toro revealed in November that the script is in so the decision has been made.

Today, El Mayimbe from Latino Review claims that the characters of John Constantine, Zatanna, Brand/Deadman and Jason Blood will make up the group in this first outing.

Naturally, these characters have not been confirmed by the studio as yet. Nor has it been confirmed if the project is part of either the already in progress DC Comics shared cinematic universe, or a rumored separate shared universe featuring only Vertigo Comics titles.

The news comes as NBC's "Constantine," featuring Matt Ryan as John Constantine, has yet to be renewed and its fate is not looking good.

Dark, the adaptation, was to have been directed by Guillermo del Toro, but insiders say the filmmaker, who is working on a sequel to Pacific Rim even as he preps his gothic horror movie Crimson Peak, is no longer attached to the project.

Despite being announced over over two years ago, progress has been slow on Justice League Dark. Unlike the other officially announced DC films, Warner Bros. hasn’t given the project a release date, and there have been few updates on its progress. Now the film has suffered another major setback with the departure of director Guillermo del Toro.

Included in their report that Vertigo projects (like Sandman) will be released under New Line Cinemas, THR revealed that del Toro is no longer attached to the film. No reason was given for why he left, but the article does mention him being the director of Pacific Rim 2, so it’s possible his busy schedule may have had something to do with it. Unlike del Toro’s other recently vacated film, Silent Hills, Justice League Dark hasn’t been outright cancelled. Instead, Warner Bros. will likely look for another candidate to helm the mystical adventure. Still, this isn’t a good sign for the magical superhero team’s big screen debut.

The last we heard about Justice League Dark’s development, del Toro, who had been attached to the film since January 2013, said that he had turned in a script revision to Warner Bros. However, he seemed less sure about staying onboard, citing time as an issue. This is the second DC film that’s lost its director this year, following Michelle MacLaren leaving Wonder Woman (though she was replaced by Patty Jenkins). It also follows nearly two months after Constantine, another DC project revolving around magic, was cancelled by NBC after only one season.


Little is known on what to expect from the Justice League Dark, which is based on the team introduced in 2011 as part of DC’s New 52 relaunch. Unlike the regular Justice League, this team deals with otherworldly threats that can’t be met by normal superheroes. Several characters we may see as part of the lineup include John Constantine, Zatanna, Deadman, and Etrigan the Demon. Other team members from the comics have included Swamp Thing, Frankenstein, Madama Xanadu, Black Orchid, and Doctor Mist. It was also hinted that Justice League Dark will take place within the DCCU, though this has yet to be confirmed.

Although del Toro won’t be dipping his toes into the magical side of the DC universe, he’ll be keeping himself busy in the near future. His upcoming projects include Pacific Rim 2 and more episodes of the FX series The Strain. You can catch two of del Toro’s films, Crimson Peak and Rings, in theaters later this year.

Now that del Toro is off Justice League Dark, who would you like to see hired as his replacement? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Justice League Dark, the Justice League team that steps in when magic and the forces of darkness are too powerful for the regular JL, has just seen their film go into official limbo. The Inquisitr reported in June that Guillermo Del Toro was no longer directing the Justice League Dark film, Dark Universe. This is despite the fact that Del Toro has spent two years developing the Justice League Dark film, and handed in a finished script to Warner Bros.

Comicbook reports that the mainstream speculation turned out to be true, and it was a certain sequel that took him off the Justice League Dark project.

“Warners liked the script, they were very enthusiastic and wanted to green-light it but they wanted it to coincide with the shoot of Pacific Rim 2. I was put in a very difficult place facing a difficult choice, and I chose to do Pacific Rim 2.”

Some speculations suggested that it might have been because Del Toro was working on Hellboy III, as Ron Perlman has been hyping the possibility of a third film for the past few months or so. Other speculations seem to suggest that it was a combination of the above and the completion of his new Gothic horror film Crimson Peaks, set to release later this year.

Justice League Dark is a comic book series that has a varying group of mostly magical, but some non-magical, superheroes. It most often consists of John Constantine, Deadman, Madame Xanadu, and Zatanna.

Many fans of the NBC show Constantine have hopes that Matt Ryan will crossover to play the titular role in the magical comic book film adaptation, Dark Universe, which Warner Bros. has planned in the past to include it in the DC Comics film universe.

According to the Daily Beast, Guillermo Del Toro and Hellboy fans are in the same boat as Justice League Dark fans. However, in a vocal poll last year at Comic Con, 6,500 adoring fans cheered at the mere mention of a Hellboy III film.

Though, at this point, the Justice League Dark film seems to have officially been put in comic book film limbo. However, with the desire for such a film growing since the NBC Constantine show and Warner Bros. desire to see Justice League Dark part of the broader DC Comics film universe, it seems like it will only be a matter of time before their magic brings forth a film.

Constantine fans, especially, need to beat the drum and carry the torch for Justice League Dark. They are probably the biggest advocates for it.

Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/2266279/jus...ytM58dEH16T.99