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D.J. Cotrona Looks Back On Cancelled JUSTICE LEAGUE: MORTAL Film

Cotrona, who was cast as Superman in director George Miller's canned Justice League movie for Warner Bros., looks back on the project, saying that WETA's work on the film was "amazing" and that it would have been on the scale of The Lord Of The Rings.

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By Paul Romano - 3/14/2013


The online embargo for G.I. Joe: Retaliation set visits have now been lifted, and a batch of new interviews with the cast and crew are available. During a group interview, D.J. "Flint" Cotrona looks back on being cast as Superman in Warner Bros.' canned take on DC Comics' Justice League. Directed by George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road), the film, titled Justice League: Mortal was well into pre-production, with a cast assembled and WETA working on the design. However, the Writer's Strike of 2008 ended up keeping the film from entering production for its planned summer 2009 release, and the project eventually died. The rest of the cast included Armie Hammer as Batman, Common as Green Lantern, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, Adam Brody as The Flash, Hugh Keays-Byrne Martian Manhunter, Santiago Cabrera as Aquaman, Teresa Palmer as Talia al Ghul and Jay Baruchel as Maxwell Lord.

Cotrona shares his regrets for not donning the iconic Superman suit in the movie, which he says would have been on the same scale as The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. He also says that WETA's design work was amazing. "That was a long slog. We were playing with that for about a year. That was during the writer’s strike time and it started and it stopped. That was a big bummer. I was really, really excited to work with George Miller and the script was really, really good. The stuff that Weta was doing was amazing. It’s just a shame that we didn’t get to finish that because it was going to be really, really cool [...] It was a damn shame that we didn’t get to finish that. I promise you that it would have been amazing. It would have been incredible. The scale of this was fantastical. It was a Lord of the Rings scale. It would have been really cool.

"Everybody in this business has seen that. For every project they have that goes, they have like five skeletons in their closet. Or a bloody corpse of something that never happened. I’m just excited — there’s so many elements that go into making a big film and so many elements that can go wrong along the way. I’ve learned that intimately. I’m just happy to get this one [G.I. Joe: Retaliation] to the finish line. I do now have this kneejerk reaction where, until I see it, I’m not believing anything. I’m just kind of halfway expecting the plug to be pulled every day. But yeah, it’s been great. I did the Justice League thing the wrong way. I read too much on the internet. You can’t do that. The internet is the devil. Or the internet is not the devil, the comment boards are the devil. Believe me, I’ve been on the opposite side on there, too saying, “You can’t let that guy be that character!” But really [in the case of Justice League] it was Weta, Weta, Weta, Weta, Weta. They are amazing and they can make anybody look like anything."

A separate incarnation of a Justice League movie is in development at Warner Bros., with Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder reportedly on board as producers. Henry Cavill, who plays Superman in June 14th's Man Of Steel, will likely reprise the role for the superhero ensemble if the reboot is a big hit. Christian Bale has also been rumored to be reprising his role as Batman in the film. Would you have liked to see Justice League: Mortal make it into theaters? You can next see D.J. Cotrona in action in G.I. Joe: Retaliation on March 28th.







Source: Screen Rant
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BlueMex - 3/14/2013, 10:13 AM
WEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
SotoJuiceMan - 3/14/2013, 10:22 AM
^^^It is and it was an ok script. They were going with only the first draft though and the story revolved around Tower of Babel with the OMAC bots as well. It was OK.

Some of the choices in that script I do not understand
DarkGrifter - 3/14/2013, 10:25 AM
@levi The majority of the script can be found here on 4chan:
http://chanarchive.org/4chan/co/44688/here-s-a-few-excerts-of-the-script-of-justice-league-mortal-a-unproduced-live-action-movie-from-2007
jerryblake - 3/14/2013, 10:26 AM
"The internet is the devil. Or the internet is not the devil, the comment boards are the devil"

LOL, so true
SotoJuiceMan - 3/14/2013, 10:26 AM
I really wish WB would release these designs that they had in store for Justice League Mortal, someone from WETA needs to let us have a peek at some designs. I really wanted to see what was exactly in store for Justice League: Mortal
Happy11 - 3/14/2013, 10:28 AM
A Latin superman lol
BlueMex - 3/14/2013, 10:32 AM
@Happy11 , i know right! now we have a british one instead lol. (sarcasm)
toco89 - 3/14/2013, 10:32 AM
He's trying really really hard to convince that the movie was gonna be really really amazing because the script was really really good(which I don't believe).

The script may have been good, but the casting was just wrong starting with him(he's too short), continuing with Armie Hammer(nothing about him says Bruce Wayne or Batman other than him being clasically handsome), and ending with Common, who's most prominent outing was in Hell on Wheels where he was miscast as a rough and tough former slave and is STILL overacting like a mother[frick]er after 10 years in the business.
DarkGrifter - 3/14/2013, 10:37 AM
@levi It looks like the websites down atm, but it'll probably be back up soon. From what I've read though there is a lot going on and you're just kind of expected to keep up with it. It isn't in anyway treated like an origin story so I would say it definitely would have been one for the fans.
NovaCorpsfan - 3/14/2013, 10:39 AM
I'm waiting for the WB haters.
AlexDeLarge87 - 3/14/2013, 10:46 AM
hahaha this short dude was going to be Superman. LOL xD
FreakingIntelligentRobertGriffin - 3/14/2013, 10:50 AM
Another dude with height issues. Shut it delarge.
AlexDeLarge87 - 3/14/2013, 10:50 AM
Dont wanna twist the knife in your wound Mr. Cotrona.
AlexDeLarge87 - 3/14/2013, 10:51 AM
FIRG@ Sorry ;)
AlexDeLarge87 - 3/14/2013, 10:52 AM
Just screwing around. Who knows it could have been good. :)
Canon108 - 3/14/2013, 10:52 AM
Just like LotR?...so 3 films of the justice league walking somewhere?
jerryblake - 3/14/2013, 10:54 AM
@FIRG

Aren't all Griffins tall ?


Gusto - 3/14/2013, 10:55 AM
FIRG's 5'2...but, his heart is immense...
StrangerX - 3/14/2013, 10:57 AM
Well its too late now
gambgel - 3/14/2013, 10:57 AM
I dont know how tall this guys is, but he definetly has the face of comic Superman. Maybe he was too young when they signed him, tho.
Would have been interesting to see that proyect, but hopefully Warner does it in the next three years. Fingers crossed
FreakingIntelligentRobertGriffin - 3/14/2013, 10:58 AM
Well in an ideal world im 5'2 stud. Then you must be 3'11 and they call you the Saskatchewan Swan.

jerryblake - 3/14/2013, 11:06 AM
yes, FIRG's a stud. I remember him trying to date a girl once

CavEl - 3/14/2013, 11:08 AM
A 5'9 Superman and a 6'5 Batman...


Yeah, pass...
FreakingIntelligentRobertGriffin - 3/14/2013, 11:09 AM
Im pimp like that. Boyfriends are just walls.
CavEl - 3/14/2013, 11:10 AM
And yes, Superman should not look up to Batman...ever.
Gusto - 3/14/2013, 11:12 AM

I'm 4'11.
376 lbs.
My friends call me Ground Round.
FreakingIntelligentRobertGriffin - 3/14/2013, 11:14 AM
Dude you were lying on craiglist all along!

You said you were 5'11, white l, and roar like an alligator.
fettastic - 3/14/2013, 11:21 AM
Wait a minute.....I thought WB initially developed Mortal as live action, but then switched tracks and was going full CGI. Was that just a rumor?
jerryblake - 3/14/2013, 11:26 AM
Actually Tom is like 5ft 7.75in .
Griffin and Gusto are so mad right now
jerryblake - 3/14/2013, 11:27 AM
Don't know how he does that. Looking younger and taller each year :)
FreakingIntelligentRobertGriffin - 3/14/2013, 11:29 AM
Jerry get off the meds dude.
nikgrid - 3/14/2013, 11:33 AM
A friend of mine works at Weta, and he told me that all the suits are locked up in a vault he has seen them and says they're pretty cool, (but he's not a comic fan)he was saying there are also maquettes around for martian manhunter and Superman.
JULEZ13 - 3/14/2013, 11:48 AM
I'm glad this movie was canned. It had failure written all over the place. Common playing a Superhero? That right there just tells you everything.

But I would love to see the designs. Those are always fun to see. Maybe we'll see them one day... Maybe like in 10 years. :(
AmericanPsychoWolf - 3/14/2013, 11:49 AM
If this movie was made, it would had shut up all the idiots that would say Justice League is a rip off of The Avengers.

Not to mention the morons that say DC is trying to catch up to The Avengers success when they came this close to putting this film out. WB couldn't get the JL movie off the ground because of everyone's "favorite" director Christopher Nolan who wouldn't let his Batman be involved in the JL movie and it would be confusing to the audience to have two different Batmans. So they had to wait until Nolan was done with The Dark Knight Rises do they could get the Justice League off. (They hired Will Beall to write it before The Avengers came out)

Kinda ironic Nolan was one of the reasons this movie was canned, but he may produce a new JL movie.
imadick - 3/14/2013, 11:50 AM
My fantasy Justice League cast has Chris Reeves as Superman and Michael Keaton as Batman. I just adored these two guys in their respective roles.






I think late 80s to early 90s would have been a great time for a Justice League movie. In those good old times, we didn't worry as much about being realistic, or having a gritty tone.





Though that freedom did come back to take a large bite out of our asses...
jerryblake - 3/14/2013, 11:52 AM
I did take off my meds ... once. It went kind like this :(
AmericanPsychoWolf - 3/14/2013, 11:55 AM
Is Arnie Hammer really that tall?
jerryblake - 3/14/2013, 12:00 PM
@AmericanPsycho

he's 6' 5"

FreakingIntelligentRobertGriffin - 3/14/2013, 12:06 PM
This is hollywood man. They bump up the heights at least 2 more inches.
mrHJK - 3/14/2013, 12:08 PM
The word was they would be motion capture animation like Beowulf
revloveR - 3/14/2013, 12:20 PM
armie is 6'5. there's a a mugshot of him somewhere.

@happy11, and that would have been a problem because? for the record, the guy is italian. they're considered white in america now governor wallace.
SupermanReturns2 - 3/14/2013, 12:30 PM
@ Tony93: LMAO!!!!
Netman0007 - 3/14/2013, 12:43 PM
Script isn't bad. The Flash should have lived though, he was the best written character in it. I'd love to see some images from this thing
shadearts - 3/14/2013, 12:45 PM
Damn he was shorter Dean Cain isn't Cain the shortest to ever play superman?
Khan - 3/14/2013, 12:50 PM
I'm kinda dissapointed to. I would have loved to see the movie. It had a lot of new young actors in it, so what do you know? It could have been incredible
SuperCat - 3/14/2013, 12:54 PM
He looks like Superman. Rather short though.
RtotheG - 3/14/2013, 1:22 PM
Does anyone know where you can get a copy of the "Justice League: Motral". I've been dying to read it. Anyone?
RtotheG - 3/14/2013, 1:22 PM
A script of course.
Super12 - 3/14/2013, 1:23 PM
TRUTH
ACira - 3/14/2013, 1:23 PM
Nothing will convince me that Justice League: Mortal would have been a good film. Crappy and/or miscast actors... seriously, Armie Hammer's the only good one in the group and he's no Batman. Santiago Cabrera's OK, but very wrong for Aquaman. Hell, Hammer'd be a better Aquaman. All the others are crap.

Plus, this would've been released the year after The Dark Knight? How would that have worked? WB were seriously going to confuse the crap out of their audience with this sure-to-be-shit movie?
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