George Miller, director of Warner Bros.’ Oscar-winning animated feature Happy Feet, is rumored to be attached to direct the studio’s upcoming DC Comics superhero mash-up Justice League of America, according to Collider.com. The live-action film promises to be a comic-book fan’s dream as it will reportedly offer Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern all in one movie.
Before entering the animated world of Penguins, Miller helmed the live-action animal sequel Babe: Pig in the City and made a name for himself by making the cult favorite Mad Max films, which also made a star of fellow Australian Mel Gibson.
The rumor mill offers no word on casting for Justice League, but the Warner Bros. stable already has a Batman and a Superman in Christian Bale and Brandon Routh, respectively. Bale is returning in next year’s Batman: The Dark Knight and Routh is expected to reprise the role of Kal El in Superman: The Man of Steel. However, Warner Bros. is apparently more eager to make Justice League than a Superman sequel, in which case Routh is likely to get on board to secure his role in the franchise. Fresh off his acclaimed performance in Werner Herzog’s Rescue Dawn, Bale has a bit more clout and is more likely to turn down the JLA gig if he doesn’t like the script.
Justice League of America may serve as a proving ground for potential Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern movies, all of which have been in development at Warner Bros. for some time now. If the pic is a hit, the studio will be in a good spot to do a series of spin-offs, in the same way 20th Century Fox is now branching off from the X-Men series with Wolverine and Magneto movies. However, word on the web is that one of the Justice League heroes dies in the current treatment for the film, which is still in the early stages of development.
