Warner Bros. puts Justice League on "indefinite hold"

The major Hollywood trades are reporting that Justice League isn’t going to happen anytime soon:

Variety: Warner pulls plug on ‘Justice League’

Hollywood Reporter: No ‘Justice’ for Warners

Entertainment Weekly: ‘Justice League’ grounded

I think this is pretty good news. As much fun as it would be to see Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern and Aquaman in a movie together, this movie seemed like a matter of bad timing from the start. It felt too rushed.

And apparently that’s the case, since they opted not to shoot the script as-is.

There’s some interesting stuff about casting in the articles.

This guy, Armie Hammer, was going to be Batman:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=i6VlIH5Musw]

There’s a second video here.

Hammer has been rumored to have gotten the part for quite some time; my good friend Jett over at Batman on Film reported that he would be Batman way back in November, and all the major movie sites picked up the story.

My favorite was CHUD’s hilarious take on the situation.

Please read it.

It’s hilarious.

However.

As much heat as Hammer has taken, that video of his appearance on Desperate Housewives really sold me on the guy.

He’s 6’5″ and he’s got a great voice. And since Justice League is geared more toward a younger audience, I think kids would have been pretty impressed by the guy as Batman. If this movie ever actually gets made, I’d have no problem with Hammer as Batman.

Our Wonder Woman was going to be Megan Gale. Watch this video, and look on in awe at how much taller she is than the male host of the talk show:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=hnB-FIPpKpo]

I’m so in love. She’s also 32 years old, which is awesome because it means they actually cast a WOMAN as Wonder Woman.

And she’s my age, which means we could date.

Gale is an Australian model and actress. In February 2005, she became the National Ambassador for an Australian organization called Kids Help Line; you can read the press release here.

So let’s look at the facts about Megan Gale:

She’s tall, she’s beautiful, she’s got charisma, she’s got confidence and she cares about children.

That’s Wonder Woman to me, folks.

I really hope that Miss Gale gets to play Wonder Woman on film at some point.

In the meantime, I hope Warner Bros. will step back and take a good, hard look at this project’s potential.

The Justice League’s 50th anniversary is in 2010. How about releasing the movie then? It would give everyone involved the time to get it right.

That time isn’t now, and I’m glad Warner Bros. had the sense to pull the plug for the time being.

Stay tuned for more news!

Keri is so very … Wonder Woman

Keri Russell is bringing her lovely, capable vocal talents to the role of Wonder Woman in a new DTV (direct-to-video) animated movie that’ll be out later this year or early next.

The scoop comes from TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello, the only man on the planet whose crush on Keri rivals my own:

Ausiello Report: Keri Russell Cast as Wonder Woman!

I didn’t watch Felicity and therefore missed out on the initial Keri Russell bandwagon, but I flipped out over how awesome she was as IMF Agent Lindsey Farris in Mission: Impossible 3.

I love the shot where Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has just rescued her from brutal torture; she’s bleeding and she’s impossibly messed up, and they’re pinned down, but she yells for a gun and Ethan slings a pistol at her and she catches it and smacks it around and opens fire on their assailants in one smooth, supremely bad-ass move.

And then there’s the training montage where she’s putting a gun together blindfolded and engaging Ethan in some awesome martial arts stuff with sticks.

She’s amazing.

But as it turns out, I hadn’t seen anything yet. Her captivating turn last year’s in Waitress was every bit as sweet, as warm and as inviting as the pies her character was always making.

It’s these two roles in particular that leave me feeling very confident that Keri will do an amazing job voicing Wonder Woman. She can do tough, but she’s also got the grace and the goodness and the warmth that are absolutely essential to the character.

I can’t wait.

Watch this site for more news about the movie, along with updates about other upcoming DC Comics/Warner Bros. animated movies including Justice League: The New Frontier and Batman: Gotham Knight.

Luke Skywalker endorses Ledger's Joker

When I was little, Mark Hamill made me want to be Luke Skywalker when I grew up.

For that matter, Mark Hamill still makes me want to be Luke Skywalker when I grow up.

What many Star Wars fans might not realize is that Mark provided the voice of The Joker for the massively awesome Batman cartoons and animated movies of the 1990s and beyond, including Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker which, in its unrated form, was the most sickeningly terrifying depiction of The Joker ever to appear in a filmed medium until the trailer for The Dark Knight came along.

Mark’s Joker was all power and insanity dripping with clever intelligence, and for many Batman fans he’s far more definitive a Joker than even Jack Nicholson.

MTV recently spoke to Mark about his take on Heath Ledger’s Joker …

… and what he said went a little something like this:

“For all those fans that dreamed of an adult approach to the material, ‘Batman Begins’ got nearly everything right,” Mark Hamill wrote to MTV News upon first seeing the trailer for Chris Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” “I have no doubt this one will be just as good or better.”

Hamill, of course, is often credited with helping to craft the most definitive take on the character yet, in Dini’s “Batman: The Animated Series.” As voice of the Joker, Hamill brought to the Gotham knave a delicate mix of psychosis and manic glee, just as ready with a gun as he was with a gag.

Hamill, like Dini, sees very little of that approach in Nolan’s take on the character — but what he does see has him smiling from ear to ear.

“The balls-out debauched psycho approach seems like a great way of reinventing everyone’s favorite scary (and scar-y) clown,” he enthused. “Can’t wait to see it!”

Yes!

And may the Force be with you, good sir.