Justice League!!! It’s the film that comic book fans everywhere thought would never happen. For years many directors talked about wanting to do a Justice League movie – a film which would finally see the much-loved Batman and Superman characters together at last. Aussie director George Miller seemed sure to make the film earlier this decade even deciding that the Aussie flavour would continue with Meagan Gale to play Wonder Woman. But if you listen to legend the writer’s strike in Hollywood suck all of his plans.
Now finally in 2017, we are heading to cinemas to finally watch a Justice League movie. Of course, the film has had its issues along the way – director Zack Snyder was unable to do the re-shoots of the film because of a family tragedy and the legendary Joss Whedon, the man who gave us Firefly, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and The Avengers had to step into the role.
All of the behind the scenes dramas though seem lost on the stars of the movies with Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck just wanting to talk about the characters that they have lovingly brought to the screen. Gadot begins by explaining that after the events of Wonder Woman and Batman vs Superman Diana Prince still wants to live in the shadows and not be in the limelight like Superman and Batman. “Diana does good because that is all she cares about,” she explains. “She doesn’t care about the fame or the glory or the credit – she’s not there for that. And I think that is why she wasn’t too interested in getting involved with being out there – you know with the press and all the people – she doesn’t want to be out there as Wonder Woman. As far as she is concerned she did everything that she could, she came to the rescue every time she was needed and she fought every time she was needed.”
With the egos of some of the other characters around her there to be seen in Justice League Gadot says that Wonder Woman’s role in the Justice League itself had to be different to everybody else’s. “It was very important to me that she was the glue of the team,” says Gadot. “That we would track the same character that we established in the Wonder Woman movie and I think that one of the special things that Diana has, one of her most special qualities is that she just cares for people in the most sincere way. So when I got the script I made an importance out of Diana being this glue to the team and she would make every single one of them, even if it is in small moments, feel stronger and loved and capable. I think she enjoys working with a team though, she had a team in Wonder Woman and she enjoyed working with them and she enjoys other people’s company. I think that she really feels good about fighting with them and being among people that are similar to her because they are all outsiders – Flash, Cyborh, Aquaman and Bruce – they are all outsiders and abnormal, they are loners but they all have these special gifts. Finally, after being alone for so long, she has teammates which is wonderful.”
Gadot also has a theory on why these films are so popular with audiences. “I think we bring something that is very relatable. Yes she is a God and yes she is the greatest warrior of all times but she is vulnerable and she is sincere and she can lose her confidence from time to time. She’s hurt but she cares and she is warm and she is loving, these are qualities that all of us has, so for me it is these qualities that makes these movies more interesting.”
Ben Affleck again steps into the role of Batman and Bruce Wayne –a role that he is certainly more comfortable with now after several outings playing the character. He quickly explains where Batman is at the beginning of Justice League. “At the end of Batman vs Superman, we leave Bruce fearful that an attack is coming and him wanting to gather up as many meta-humans as he possibly can. We’re left with all these stages of team building and this movie starts with Bruce actively researching and trying to find these superhumans that he believes are out there.”
Of course, Batman wouldn’t be Batman without a plethora of toys that we all want to play with and Affleck is only too happy to tell us about the Caped Crusader’s big boy toys for Justice League. “There is a modified Batmobile that is tricked out to take on the alien race so it is made a little bit more lethal. Then there is the Bat-Wing which is pretty cool, it’s a ship that he flies around in and he’s got this huge Triple 7 that he just flies around as well if he needs to transport something. And then he is building this bigger plane that he wants to go longer distances so Bruce Wayne has no shortage of ways to get around.”
With Bruce/Batman’s biggest task in this film actually assembling the Justice League it takes up a big chunk of the film and Affleck says fans shouldn’t expect everybody to be wanting to jump at Bruce’s original offer. “He isn’t met with enthusiasm by everybody he encounters,” Affleck says laughing. “Some people are a little more reluctant to join up and be part of the team. The Flash signs right up, Aquaman takes some convincing, Cyborg takes some convincing from Wonder Woman, but eventually, we start assembling this group and they eventually come around and realise that there is a need for us to all work together.”
He is also quick to admit that these characters despite being in comics for so long are still very relevant to today’s cinematic audiences. “Batman and Superman and these core DC characters still don’t seem dated,” he says. “They still somehow still work in stories today and that’s just the mark of characters that are very well drawn and they still have this kind of residence even though they were invented in the 1930s.”
Justice League is in cinemas now.
