Many news outlets, surprisingly mostly comprising of those with a negative reaction to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, were invited onto the Justice League set in London a couple of weeks ago. Usually with set visits an embargo is put on an information gathered till the film is near release, however after such a critical backlash to DC’s tentpole 2016 release, all bets were off. Meer days after the visit, interviews, logos and details were released by the outlets giving us an awful lot of information of wade through.
Here is the film’s official synopsis:
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
We also got our first look at the revamped batmobile for the superhero team up:
-Justice League takes place a few months after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
-Batman feels something is coming and the need to assemble a group that can fight the threat. The story is finding the group and putting them together and part of the fun is watching the different personalities of all the members of the Justice League interact with one another.
-Steppenwolf is the villain, but they haven’t closed on the actor’s contract yet so they couldn’t reveal who will be playing him.
-The Parademons seen in the “Batman’s Knightmare” scene in Batman v Superman play a major role in Justice League.
-Willem Dafoe plays Vulko. He’s from another generation than Aquaman. He has more layers to his costume.
-They’re shooting on film but not in IMAX.
-Justice League is about the purpose of being a hero. Batman was hit hard by the death of Superman and he feels like he didn’t honor him while alive. He wants to make it up to him and also protect the planet from an incoming threat.
-A big change from BvS is Batman is learning to trust people in Justice League.
-Junkie XL is doing the score without Hans Zimmer.
-Zack Snyder said Jack Kirby’s New Gods influenced the Justice League movie.
There were a couple of details specifically detailing The Batman Universe expansion in the Justice League film. Here are those details:
-Justice League features a number of new vehicles for Batman and his team to play with including the Flying Fox and the Nightcrawler. We got to see the top of the Flying Fox and the controls look very similar to the Batmobile controls.
-The interior of the Flying Fox is massive. It’s a three story ship that can fit the Batmobile and tons of other Bat gadgets. The ship is self-contained and a fantastic piece of equipment.
-We get a very classic looking Commissioner Gordon in the film. We were on set for J.K. Simmons’ first day and he was wearing a hat, tie, long trench coat and glasses. He looked like the animated series Gordon and also like he was literally ripped out of the comics. Fans will be very happy.
-Another change about Batman in Justice League is that he’s trying to redeem himself from his experiences in the last film. Affleck says “Batman definitely went to a very dark place that was rooted in trauma that occurred to people that he loved and worked with and what he saw. This movie is not about that issue for him so much anymore, he’s no longer sort of extreme in that way. From the experiences of the last movie, he’s sort of learned and now he’s sort of wanting to redeem himself and wanting mankind to be redeemed and he’s wanting to make the world better.”
-One of the sets we got to visit was called Wayne Hangar. Imagine an old hangar that’s been abandoned and taken over by Bruce to tinker with Batman’s tech and build new vehicles. One of the signs on the ground said Gotham Iron Foundry Company established 1920. I believe the hangar was located on or near Gotham Warf. Along the tables I saw vintage newspapers with numerous car, missile parts, and little miscellaneous pieces scattered about. In one corner of the room twenty missiles were stacked in four rows of five. In another area a Honda motorcycle. In another area the Batmobile. I’d say the hangar was big enough to hold at least 20 Batmobiles and still have some room. Also, in another corner, which looks like Batman’s desk, the monitors were displaying the scenes from Batman v Superman when Batman was discovering Luthor’s footage about Flash, Wonder Woman, Cyborg and Aquaman.
-Ben Affleck said that the version of Batman in Justice League is “a little bit more sardonic, humor, a little more irony. He’s on a little more man on a mission this time. As opposed to like he was so full of anger because of what happened at the Black Zero Event. That kind of character, that sort of rage that possessed him. And now he’s on a mission to get this group together.”
-One of the things fans have wanted to see is Batman using his detective skills. Affleck says in Justice League “the world’s greatest detective aspect of Batman is more present in this story than it was in the last one, and will probably be expanded upon further in a Batman movie that I would do. I think all the great Batman stories are, at their heart, detective stories.”
-The Nightcrawler is MASSIVE. Imagine the main part of the Batmobile except where the wheels would normally go you have four spider like legs from the largest spider you can imagine. These legs allow the Nightcrawler to climb and move in ways a car or plane can’t. It also allows the vehicle to access hard to reach terrain. Something else to know is when the Nightcrawler moves it damages the terrain due to the base of its legs. While the backstory of the Nightcrawler won’t be explained in the film, production designer Patrick Tatopoulos said that he imagined it’s an old piece of Wayne Technology created by Bruce’s father that was originally going to be used by the military. The production only built the top of the Nightcrawler and the rest will be added in with CG.
-There are two Batsuits in the film. The first one looks like the Batman costume you’ve already seen excerpt it has new armor plates under the costume to give added protection. Also, on Batman’s forearms they’ve added spikes on the outside of the costume. The second Batsuit is towards the end of the film but it has added carbon fiber, more protection, and a new cowl which adds more strength and protection around the neck and added levels of communication with Alfred and the members of the Justice League. The second costume also has new goggles which help pilot a new vehicle. The costume also helps amplify his strength even when dealing with an old injury.
-Bruce Wayne has a new car in Justice League but no one would reveal what it was. While in Wayne Hangar a car was being covered by tarps to make sure we couldn’t figure out what it was. I will say the car was very low to the ground so I’m sure it will be expensive and cool.
-Alfred and Bruce Wayne develop a lot of tech for the members of the Justice League.
Are more excited for Justice League after the above news? Let us know in the comment section below.
