Guillermo Del Toro shares new details on what happened to his Justice League Dark movie and whether or not it could happen as part of James Gunn’s DC Universe. As Del Toro almost made his superhero debut as a filmmaker years ago, the project ultimately never went forward.
During his appearance on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Del Toro was asked about how far they got with Justice League Dark, including the casting process. He stressed that “No, I was not casting yet,” but that he “knew I wanted Doug Jones to be Deadman, only because physically he could do the suit, and I knew his mannerisms.”
He added how he “loved that screenplay. I was in love with [it]. I thought it brought everyone in effortlessly.” Del Toro also confirmed that in terms of the lead, “It was Constantine. The plot made absolute perfect sense. I really loved how they got tangled.” One of the foes would have been Floronic Man, as he stated that he was “one of the villains. It was really great because Swamp Thing was very fleshed out.”
However, there would have been cameos from some big heroes, in this case Batman, as Del Toro commented, “There was a moment when Batman came in briefly. They said, ‘We need a plane,’ and ‘A friend of mine has a plane,’ and then you were in Bruce Wayne’s office.” While he never revealed if it would have been Ben Affleck’s Batman from the DCEU movie timeline, Del Toro stressed, “I would have loved to have done it. Now, I wouldn’t.”
Del Toro was also asked if he has had any talks with Gunn and DC Studios, regardless if it was for Justice League Dark or another project. The Hollywood filmmaker said, “No, no, no. Now and then, I write him about something else he’s doing right. I think he’s remarkably smart. I loved Superman,” he shared. “I really enjoy the way he’s viewing the universe.”
He concluded his response with saying that “the screenplay is there,” in case DC Studios would ever want to revive it. Del Toro also stated, “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.”
This wasn’t the only attempt to make Justice League Dark happen in live-action, as J.J. Abrams tried to create a franchise based on the beloved characters. The concept was to establish various members through their own movies and HBO Max TV shows, including a new Constantine series.
But despite the many Justice League Dark movies and TV shows that were in the works, nothing was ever produced from Abrams’ plans. Another project that was seemingly set to tie into that franchise was Emerald Fennell’s Zatanna film.
In February 2023, the Justice League Dark show was reportedly cancelled. As DC Studios became a new entity, the primary focus on DC IPs became on the new DCU franchise, which is currently in Chapter 1: “Gods and Monsters.”
Gunn was previously asked about Justice League Dark in the DCU in December 2022, and made it clear he was open to potentially exploring those players down the line. One Justice League Dark character who is on his way is Swamp Thing, as James Mangold has a solo film in the works for DC Studios, which could be a way to slowly set up the iconic team in the future.