Guillermo Del Toro appeared on a panel today at WonderCon 2013 in Anaheim, CA, to promote his upcoming film Pacific Rim (you can read our full on-site panel coverage here).
During the audience Q&A portion of the panel, a fan asked the director about another project he’s working on: Justice League Dark also known as Dark Universe (and Heaven Sent), a film for DC/Warner Bros.
Del Toro said he was finished with a “bible” for Justice League Dark, which will differ from DC’s main Justice League film, and is beginning on the script with a writer, who will be announced soon. He revealed that the lead character will be a blond version of John Constantine, the center of DC/Vertigo’s comic book series Hellblazer (brought to the screen by Keanu Reeves in 2005’s Constantine). The Demon in the story will be Jason Blood, who was one of the Knights of King Arthur. In the current version of the script, the audience will discover the origins of the team as the story progresses, instead of all at the beginning, and there is going to be a mystery to solve.
The director said that his favorite DC characters are Swamp Thing and Deadman, and he looks forward to bringing those characters to life on film.
Justice League Dark is an ongoing comic book series at DC Comics launched in 2011 that is part of their The New 52 event and centers on a more supernatural/occult-oriented team, featuring the following DC characters, some of whom are typically more at home at the publisher’s Vertigo imprint: John Constantine, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Shade the Changing Man, Zatanna, Mindwarp, Enchantress, and more.
Del Toro said he would turn to Justice League Dark after his next directing project, a ghost story called Crimson Peak.
Some of the Justice League Dark comic book run has been collected into trade paperback. Volume 1 is available now, while Volume 2 is available now for pre-order. I, Vampire Vol. 2 is available now and includes Justice League Dark #7–8.
– Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In the Dark
– Justice League Dark Vol. 2: The Books of Magic
– I, Vampire Vol. 2: Rise of the Vampires
Reporting by Mr. Babyman on site at WonderCon 2013 for Geeks of Doom.
Justice League Dark. Because Dark is the new black. If it ain’t dark, it’s for kiddies. More dark, please! Make mine a double dark latte, NO SUGAR, because sugar is for wimps. And kiddies.
I’m bored with this concept already. The opposite of light and hopeful (I suppose that to mean Superman before he discovered angst and the post-9/11 grimace) is grim, pedestrian naval-gazing by writers who can’t get their heads out of their disgust with a world that doesn’t include — hmmmm — light and hopeful heroes.
Comment by AndrewLynch1 — March 31, 2013 @ 1:03 am
In RE: AndrewLynch1
Actually, Justice League Dark isn’t ANY of that. It’s not just a “dark” version of Justice League. It pretty much stands on its own, and is one of the better written of the new DC comics, particularly since Jeff Lemire took over writing duties. Most of the people on the team aren’t even from the former main DC line. Zatanna and Deadman are really the only ones people might be familiar with. The rest are mostly lesser known Vertigo characters.
Comment by Steven Warmath — March 31, 2013 @ 5:25 pm
I am incredibly excited that this project is moving forward. I hope it actually makes it out of the gate.
Heck, I’m more interested in this than I am in Justice League.
Comment by calciferboheme — May 12, 2013 @ 7:55 pm