What good are all the superpowers in the DC Universe combined if they can’t defeat our real world crises? Before the Marvel Universe dominated the superhero movie genre, there was a Justice League movie slated to film in 2007 that would have been the first of its kind. This film was going to cover the major DC characters Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, The Flash, and The Green Lantern. Unfortunately, innovation could not save this movie as it landed in a perfect storm of Hollywood politics, greed and an election thousands of miles away.

The movie was set to be made by Australian director George Miller and filmed in the unique terrain of Australia. This all changed when, only months before pre-production in Australia was scheduled to begin, the newly elected Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd changed the country’s tax rebate incentive program, making it too expensive for Warner Bros to film there. If you know one thing about the movie industry, it’s that budget is everything. Countless movies have met their doom after trying to battle the Grim Reaper Budget and this project was no exception. Nothing could be done to change the location of the movie or the imperfect script given the 2007-08 Writer’s Guild Strike and with that the movie was destroyed by a greater villain than DC had ever thought up: one that can destroy you before you exist.

Relatively unknown actors were slated to play the famous characters: Adam Brody as The Flash, DJ Cotrona as Superman, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, and Armie Hammer as Batman. Hammer has been the most vocal about the movie that almost happened and revealed that the project was set to have the gritty realness of the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight franchise as well as the detailed look of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek films. Hammer told of days where he had to meet with a psychiatrist to discuss his take on Batman and see that the character’s actions followed the model of a paranoid schizophrenic while in preparation for the role. Then the days where he would show up to rehearsal and find no one there because of Miller’s obsession with Batman being the black sheep in the Justice League team; Hammer needed to feel left out so that he could portray that in his character. The actor playing Aquaman had to swim with dolphins to prepare for his role, Brody had to train to be The Flash with rubber bands around his arms, and Hammer had to train with a martial artist. This movie was set to bring about the most realistic interpretation possible for these heroes that can look through walls and breathe underwater.

Six years later, this troubled project still does not have a release date. Warner Bros is very aware of the success that Marvel has achieved and now must directly compete with the rival universe. They have already released Man of Steel, their first effort to unify the DC catalog of characters in film. The next is the first-ever crossover for Superman and Batman in a movie, Batman vs. Superman. This will be released the same year as The Avengers: Age of Ultron which puts the two universes in direct competition for the first time. Can DC even hope to claim a name for themselves in a superhero world that seems to already be mastered?