Director Joseph Kahn Shares Concept Art From His Failed JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK Pitch
A few years ago, we caught word that Joseph Kahn had pitched a Dark Universe movie to WB and now, the prominent music video director has shared never-before-seen concept art from his failed proposal.
It's really no secret that Warner Bros. has been working on developing a Justice League Dark/Dark Universe movie for several years now and while there has been some traction at various points throughout the past couple years, things have gotten awfully quiet ever since Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow; American Made) exited the project this past May. The film is still considered a priority to the studio and was even included in their updated DC Films slate last week at CCXP in Brazil, but considering there is no director or script (as far as we know), it may still be another year or two before we get any serious progress.
It's been known for quite some time that Academy Award-nominated director Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water) was once attached to the film and even reportedly turned in at least two or three drafts of the film's script to Warner Bros. However, for whatever reason, the studio elected not to move forward with Del Toro's version, choosing to instead go in a different direction. Then, last year, Joseph Kahn, who is best known for helming several hit music videos, released test footage of Swamp Thing from his Dark Universe pitch and now, we've also received concept art from his pitch.
While Kahn has released most of the photos on his personal Twitter, the photos below actually come to us from Justin Fields, Executive Creative Director and Founder of Ironklad Studios, who designed the pieces alongside Kahn in 2015. He also reveals that Kahn's pitch would have seen him direct Del Toro's script, but it was ultimately scrapped in favor of the animated movie that featured a completely different screenplay.
Check out all six pieces below:
To view every photo at once, simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!
Swamp Thing
Kahn offers some additional insight on his Swamp Thing design, revealing that the animation test he previously released was to demonstrate how the fireflies would orbit around him in live-action. In case you missed it last time, you can revisit that test footage below:
Floronic Man
The reveal of Floronic Man essentially confirms that Kahn was working from an early version of Del Toro's script as Del Toro himself revealed back in 2013 that Jason Woodrue would serve as the film's primary antagonist. While the design went unused, he does kind of look like the evil twin brother of the titular monster in J.A. Bayona's critically-acclaimed A Monster Calls, although that's probably just a coincidence.
Natalie Dormer as Zatanna Zatara
Kahn confirms, via Twitter, that his Zatanna Zatara would have also worn her traditional top hat with the outfit you see above and as you can also see, his top choice for the role was Game of Thrones standout Natalie Dormer. Considering her fan-favorite character has since been killed off the hit HBO series, we could actually still see this casting happen if the studio and new director were interested.
Dan Stevens as John Constantine
This is actually the most inspired and exciting potential casting of the bunch as this art was likely commissioned before (or around the same time) as Stevens' breakout performance in The Guest and before his excellent work on FX's Legion. However, due to his commitments to the acclaimed Marvel series, which is currently filming its second season, it's increasingly unlikely that we see him jump ship to DC Films.
Deadman
Deadman is a character that's been repeatedly confirmed to be in every incarnation of Del Toro's script. It's uncertain who Kahn would've wanted for the heavily CGI role of Boston Brand, but his design is comic-accurate for the most part.
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Jason Blood/Etrigan the Demon
Here's another interesting casting choice with Ejiofor coming in hot after his Academy Award-nominated performance in 12 Years A Slave. However, now that he's Baron Mordo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and slated to take on more responsibility as the primary big bad in the inevitable Doctor Strange sequel, the ship has probably also sailed for him to join the DC Films universe.
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