Alas, there is hope for a new Superman sequel to “Superman Returns” after all. The one thing holding it back was the announcement earlier last year that a “Justice League of America” (JLA) movie would have to come first, however, Warner Bros. has just pulled the plug on their highly sought after JLA film.
The film studio has let the waivers on all the cast go leaving director George Miller without actors.
The movie was to begin production two days ago but now has been put on hold and may not get going again until November or December 2008, if at all.
Warner Bros. sited several factors in their decision to let the actor’s options go by the wayside. One reason was the ongoing writer’s strike and upcoming negotiations with both the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, as well as, problems getting their expected tax breaks for shooting most of the film in Australia.
The script was less than Warner had expected leaving no where to turn for rewrites because of the strike. By not exercising cast options the entire recasting process will have to begin again once the project gets back underway, causing even further delays. And, while it is expected that the relatively unknown actors will make themselves available, if and when the shoot begins again, Hollywood can be a very fluid town and some of them may have found their fame by then and it could end up costing the studio more than initially budgeted for.
I’d love for a good JLA movie to be made, so I’m a little bummed at this set back. But if the script really needed work then I’m o.k. with the delay.
If they are really concerned about budget, let the guy who did the “Batman: Dead End” teaser run with it.