HOME TRAILERS 2013 SCHEDULE PODCASTS REVIEWS POSTERS INTERVIEWS SHORT FILMS NEWS FEEDS ABOUT APPS

LATEST NEWS

Reply: If Not Affleck, Who Can Direct a Great 'Justice League' Movie?

by Alex Billington
August 15, 2012

Here we are, at the end of the 2012 summer. Chris Nolan has finished his epic Batman trilogy. Joss Whedon brought together Marvel's heroes for an assembly of Avengers. Zack Snyder is hard at work finishing up his Man of Steel reboot of Superman. So what's next? Justice League. After the incredible worldwide success of The Avengers, we knew Warner Bros and DC Comics would push for a Justice League movie sooner than later, and have already commissioned a new script that's being sent around to prospective directors. Ben Affleck, director of The Town and Argo for WB, was one of the first they sent it to. But who else? Who, realistically, could (or should) direct a great Justice League movie? We want to know what everyone thinks!

Ever since the news broke last week that Affleck was being sent the script, we haven't heard a word from Warner Bros. And I doubt we will for a while, at least until they find a director that is an actual possibility, since many seemed hesitant about Affleck's interests anyway. But if he passes on Justice League, and they keep looking, who else should they be looking at? While we don't know what kind of movie it will be, if it's going to start a new franchise like Avengers or give us a solo story of an already-formed Justice League, there's quite a few talented filmmakers out there who could do something outstanding no matter what. So who are they? In this latest Reply question from FS.net, we went to twitter to get some initial suggestions.

The question I posed on twitter this time: "Do you think Ben Affleck could direct a good Justice League movie? If not him, who else realistically instead?" Realistically because there's no need to say Chris Nolan or Steven Speilberg, though I would love to see either of them direct it. Up first are those who like Affleck.

Those Who Want to See Affleck Direct:

Ben Affleck

@firstshowing I'd love to see him do it, as long as he can handle a big budget and doesn't cast himself as a League member. #ReplyFS

— Paul Romano (@PaulRomCBM) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing I feel he would. His last 2 films showed me he's a pretty good Director. Juggles editing, characters, action well. #replyfs

— Dominic (@Count3D) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing I think he could. THE TOWN & GONE BABY GONE are both very well made. I think he could totally pull it off.

— Jacob Dominguez (@SonofSunday) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing personally I think he would do a good job, both movies he's directed were great & Argo looks like another good one. >

— Damien X (@TorturedXGenius) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing also he's an actor & writer, so he'll know what to bring out of the actors if they aren't delivering & help out w the script

— Damien X (@TorturedXGenius) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing yeah, why not? He had some flops but proved recently that he has the skills to direct some deep, dark stuff but action as well

— Jackson (@JJGSoldier) August 14, 2012

There were a good amount of replies suggesting other strong choices if not Affleck. Here's where we get into some dream names like Alfonso Cuaron as well as more realistic picks like David Yates of Harry Potter.

Other Replies and Various Director Picks:

@firstshowing It'll probably be someone we haven't heard of. That movie is light years away to be attaching directors to

— Carlos (@jclin1) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing If he's not interested, I think David Yates would be the best realistic choice. #ReplyFS

— Paul Romano (@PaulRomCBM) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing it's possible Affleck would direct a good Justice League a film but I would rather it be in the hands of Alfonso Cuaron or GDT

— Ryan Fernand (@ryan_fernand) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing Here's one for you -I'd like to see Tony Scott have a bash. That would be action-mungus-tastic!

— Matt Fillery (@CallMeDraper) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing It would certainly be interesting. A grounded, serious take for sure. Alfonso Cuaron is my dream pick, though.

— Patrick Reynolds (@patrick_ren) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing If Affleck passes on JL (which I hope he doesn't), then I'd go with J.J. Abrams. His vision would be PERFECT. #ReplyFS

— Sean Atkins (@SeanJ8) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing @count3d David Yates, Zack Snyder, Darren Aronofsky, Peter Jackson (unlikely), Guillermo del Toro, JJ Abrams (unlikely)

— Paul Romano (@PaulRomCBM) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing I could easily see WB going with a director that has made them a lot of $$$. Somebody like David Yates #ReplyFS

— John Ernenputsch (@jpooch21) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing @count3d Nicholas Meyer, Kevin smith, John mctierran

— Craig(@darthmaul13) August 15, 2012

@firstshowing Frank Darabont or Robert Zemeckis -- either has the sensibility ,the experience,the proven storytelling abilities.

— Evinrude (@evanmorris76) August 16, 2012

Two names that kept coming up repeatedly were Brad Bird, of The Incredibles, Ratatouille and recently M:I Ghost Protocol, plus Duncan Jones, of Moon and Source Code. Both of these guys are awesome and both were mentioned many times. Here's our collection of tweet responses including Brad Bird or Duncan:

Top Picks - Brad Bird and/or Duncan Jones:

Brad Bird / Duncan Jones

@firstshowing @firstshowing I think Affleck could do a great job... but so can @manmademoon (Duncan Jones) or @bradbirda113 (Brad Bird).

— Daniel Acosta (@cinematic1994) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing Sure, I'd say Affleck would do a fine job, but Brad Bird on the other hand... Now that would be something. #ReplyFS

— Gareth Keogh (@GarethKeogh) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing Duncan Jones would be a good fit! #ReplyFS

— Clement J. Bryant (@clementbryant) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing A Brad Bird Justice League would be absolutely astonishing... If Abrams wasn't tied to Star Trek that would be cool too.

— Ryan M. Holt (@RyanMHolt) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing Brad Bird would be something but I just can't see it happening given his prior work for a certain company #replyFS

— John Ernenputsch (@jpooch21) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing But if NOT Affleck... Wolfgang Petersen, Duncan Jones, Brad Bird.

— Dominic (@Count3D) August 14, 2012

@firstshowing My why I picked Petersen, Bird, Jones: comfortable with sci-fantasy, competent at action/suspense, good at (some big) casts

— Dominic (@Count3D) August 15, 2012

@firstshowing @bradbirda113 , Neill Blomkamp or...Coens

— George Loch (@georgeloch) August 14, 2012

This last one brings up another great choice: Neill Blomkamp, but I don't think he'd be up for it. There was also mention of Josh Trank of Chronicle (via @paulnolansound) who I think is a director to watch grow, but we'll have to see if he works on Fantastic Four and how that turns out first. Lastly, one final tweet that I just have to include because, while he doesn't name any directors, I totally love the idea he mentions:

@firstshowing Actually, just give Justice League to Bad Robot and have them go nuts. I wouldn't care who directed if they were in charge.

— Ryan M. Holt (@RyanMHolt) August 15, 2012

Now that would be something. A Bad Robot-produced take on DC Comics' Justice League? If only. I guess we can dream. I was trying to keep a more grounded, realistic focus with this discussion, but obviously there are too many dream picks. From Spielberg to Cuarón to Blomkamp, or even Weir or Aronofsky or del Toro. But realistically, I'd love to see someone like Brad Bird or Duncan Jones or Josh Trank or even Marc Webb as some of the top directors for this. Warner Bros has a lot of potential with Justice League and they better be ready to go all out, like Avengers, and find the perfect person to take the reigns, like Joss Whedon.

Thanks for checking out our new series Reply, where we open up a discussion based on a quick question. You can always follow @firstshowing to reply next time, or follow-up with your own thoughts on the in-the-works Justice League below. Our first Reply was about Man of Steel, the second about favorite TDKR moments, the third about The Hobbit's third movie. We hope to continue this series with more riveting, engaging, fascinating questions in the near future. See you on twitter! Who do you think should direct?

Filed under Comics, Discuss, Hype

From around the web:

BG

Richard Donner. Duh.
Big Boss

In my opinion, WB should've given the Batman reboot Affleck for 2015. For two reasons: Affleck's direction and vision would've preserved Batman's grittiness and a new perspective, AND he's best friends with Kevin Smith! With Ben's direction and Smith's comicbook mythos knowledge, JL would definitely have a great start.
- http://movieviral.com Daniel Koelsch
  
  I'm pretty sure there's been no news of this supposed 2015 Batman reboot.
  - Big Boss
    
    Um, yes there has. Check Ain't it Cool and Geek Tyrant.
- David Banner
  
  Affleck want's to star in all movies he directs, do you see Affleck(DareDevil) as Batman? And on the friendship with Kevin part? Hm, well i lissten to Kevin's podcasts each week, seems the waters are lukewarm
  - Big Boss
    
    I see your point. After DD, I can't see Affleck's "butt-chin" in a black cowl. lol. And I usually don't keep up with Kev's podcasts, but I did hear his stance on doing a comicbook movie after his "Superman Lives" debacle. Still, wishful thinking..lol
darrin

gus van sant
http://movieviral.com Daniel Koelsch

I don't know if Duncan Jones can handle a big superhero team up like that. Brad Bird is an interesting choice, since he can balance the action with the character moments pretty decently.
Q_Q

Nicolas Winding Refn
The Flowers of War

Alfonso Cuaron or maybe Paul Thomas Anderson!
Zade_92

In my opinion i really think the justice league movie shouldnt be made unless reboots of both batman and superman happen because i think theway that Nolan set up their worlds doesnt allow there to be other heroes
http://www.facebook.com/james.spataro.50 James Spataro

kevin smith.. because he's like the joss whedon for DC. or David fincher just cause he's awesome
- bozo connors
  
  Don't know if he'd do it - but I'd LOVE to see Kevin tackle something like this. He's quite the Batman fanatic I understand.
  - Manuel
    
    Probably he will make a presentation about the Justice League movie that hi didn't make.
Chip_Tha_Ripper

micheal bay. hahahahahahahahaha. But really no. peter jackson or niel (whatever/however you spell his last name) that did District 9 or zack snyder
Cody W

JJ Abrams, just less lens flare and itd be solid
- Manuel
  
  JJ ftw
Jericho

BAD ROBOT!!!!!!!
http://www.facebook.com/cabbott15 Chuck Abbott

just tossing it out there.....but what about Paul W.S. Anderson??
Lonestar1179

To have a good director for the Justice League I believe it needs to be someone with the same darkness as Chris Nolan, but it will need to show the strength of each character involved. Joss Whedon did an excellent job with the Avengers. He should exactly what he could with the amount of time given to him to do it in. As far as the Justice League it needs to be dark and not to comic bookie. I think Guillermo del toro might be a good option.
Hazedmind

Joe Cornish dosen't have any projects lined up i don't think or even Zack Snider would be cool cause hes doing Superman
DAVIDPD

Steve Soderbergh. He is great at ensembles.
dgeet

Duncan Jones?
http://www.quanahblogs.com/ Quanah

I think a good argument could be made for several: J.J. Abrams is great at incorporating action, tense story line, and character. James Cameron would be a good choice for his ability to use CGI and he has a winning track record (Although I don't think he'd ever do a comic book film unfortunately). Michael Mann is the king of character development. Again, I'm sure he wouldn't take on such a project. Alfonso Cuaron makes good looking movies, and ones that I've become intensely sucked in to. Another possibility. But I saw a suggestion earlier in a Tweet I thought was great: David Yates. He's become impressive. However, ultimately you must have someone who is incredibly passionate about comic books. Out of those people, I'm not exactly sure who that would be. In the end, I don't know how bad of a pick Affleck truly is. He may be the best choice based on his exposure to action films as an actor, and his growing sense of presence as a director. We'll see I guess.
FilmFlo

Joe Carnahan
drberd

i would have to say zack synder as the director because of watchmen (good director but not a writer) and i dont know who the writer would be or collaboration of writers would be but they would have to have expierence with writing for the animated show or be able to mimic that and improve upon it greatly without making it cheesy and chliche
http://twitter.com/davide_coppola Davide Coppola

Sion Sono
nem

Uwe Boll.
finn

Brian Singer
Rain Spider

Wes Anderson!!!!! Seriously tho, I like the idea of Winding Refn. I think he could bring along Gosling and he could play a great replacement Batman for Bale.
Manuel

Probably I'd like to see what Zack Snyder or JJ. Abrams can do with the JLA movie.
David Banner

I have no idea what JL(A) does, do they only fight giant robots? So it's a bit hard to think of a director for this. I would give all the characters their own film first, so people can get to know them first? Don't rush it.
kash

lol did somebody say John Mctierran...he is a relic
jtom

rain johnson??? can handle the darker character elements (brick)...little comic moments (brothers bloom) and if looper can show off great action scenes I think he would be a good pick
Jack

Probably Joss Whedon, If you can succsessfully do 1 all star superhero team up film, you can theoretically do another