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Guillermo del Toro breaks down his original plans and casting choices for the Justice League Dark movie that never got made.
During a recent discussion with Josh Horowitz, del Toro opened up about where in development his Justice League Dark film was before being scrapped in the wake of DC Studios' formation. "I was not casting yet," del Toro said. "I knew I wanted Doug Jones to be Deadman, only because physically he could do the suit, and I knew his mannerisms."
A screenplay for Justice League Dark had already been penned, per del Toro's comments. "I loved that screenplay. I was in love with [it]. I thought it brought everyone in effortlessly," del Toro said before going on to note that John Constantine was in fact planned as the film's leading antihero. "The plot made absolute perfect sense. I really loved how they got tangled. We had the Floronic Man as one of the villains. It was really great because Swamp Thing was very fleshed out."
del Toro went on to describe where Justice League Dark would have crossed over with more mainstream heroes, including a sequence in which the eponymous team goes to Bruce Wayne's office in the hopes of acquiring a private plane. Del Toro also confirmed that, while he hasn't discussed the possibility of returning to the project with DC Studios' co-head James Gunn, that conversation certainly isn't off the table.
"I think [Gunn is] remarkably smart... I really enjoy the way he's viewing the universe. The screenplay is there. It was a couple of years of development. We never got to the art. It had great set pieces. My favourite one was a chase with Deadman jumping from one body to the next."
The team of supernaturally inclined heroes known as the Justice League Dark made their debut in the first issue of the DC Comics title of the same name back in 2011. Written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Mikel Janín, Justice League Dark was released as part of the first wave of DC's The New 52 line. The series not only saw characters like Deadman and John Constantine step into the spotlight, but brought other Vertigo imprint characters into the DC Universe proper along with them.
What's Next for Guillermo del Toro on the Silver Screen?
Image via NetflixWhile del Toro's Justice League Dark isn't coming anytime soon, the filmmaker still has plenty more in store for fans in the coming years. del Toro confirmed two upcoming projects, the first of which is titled Fury and will see the auteur team back up with Frankenstein star Oscar Isaac. "Essentially it's going back to [the] sort of thriller aspects of Nightmare Alley - very cruel, very violent. Like My Dinner with Andre but killing people after each course," del Toro explained.
del Toro is also working with Netflix on an adaptation of The Boy in the Iron Box, the first of a series of novels co-written alongside Chuck Hogan. Currently, The Boy in the Iron Box is slated to star Companion's Rupert Friend, The Naked Gun's Kevin Durand, and It's Jaeden Martell. Like the novel, the film will follow a group of mercenaries on an unsanctioned mission whose plane crashes down over the Tian Shan mountains, leaving them stranded and staring down some truly monstrous threats.
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