With the release of Justice League only 2 years away, it’s a bit surprising that more concrete information hasn’t been announced. With the claims that the director short-list was very short, I assumed that some announcement regarding that was going to happen in late 2012, but we still haven’t heard anything on that front.

Casting rumours have mostly focused on Batman, but I was also hoping to know at least one of the actors who would be donning a cape for the film by now. While we don’t have any of that information for you just yet, we do have the news of which of the Justice League characters have been chosen out of the extensive list of members to be the focus of the film. Those five characters are Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern, and the Flash.

No big surprise there, if the film is going to go with only 5 characters as the focus, it was pretty safe to assume those would be the 5. It is a bit surprising for me that Aquaman isn’t part of the main group as my thought was they would focus on 6 or 7 and Aquaman would be one of them.

Aquaman and Martian Manhunter are being called the B-lineup, and while neither of them will be in the core group for the film, it’s likely that one or both will make an appearance. It’s probably safe to say that if only one shows up, it’ll be Manhunter, due to the threat being cosmic. Then again, maybe Flash will fall into the ocean and need saving or something. The C-lineup consists of Hawkman, meaning he has almost no chance of showing up in the film.

Hawkman is the only character mentioned who wasn’t part of the original team, and while he could certainly add something to the film, if the film is going to involve later recruits, I’d much rather see Nightwing. If Nightwing was added, it would definitely allow for a good subplot involving the dynamic between him and Batman, plus Nightwing is just an all-around cooler hero. The other character I’d choose before Hawkman is Cyborg, considering he’s part of the New 52’s original line-up. That being said, since Hawkman isn’t likely to appear, the fact he’s even being mentioned doesn’t really matter.

The problem with Warner’s method as opposed to Marvel’s is introducing all the characters for the first time in the group movie means that each one needs a bit of back-story instead of diving right into the plot. Even those who are extremely well versed in DC lore will still need to be brought up to date on just which incarnation of each character is being used. That’s going to take up a good bit of time. Then there’s getting into the actual plot, which involves detailing Darkseid’s evil plan, having time for that plan to matter, and then the league foiling him at the last minute. We’re looking at a 3 hour movie right there, and it already feels rushed.

Some would argue that since Batman and the Green Lantern already had films, the back-story for them won’t need to be as extensive, but considering it’s more than likely that new actors will be taking on those roles, I doubt Warner will try to pick up right where those films left off. Christian Bale has already said he isn’t interested in playing the Caped Crusader under any director but Nolan, so it looks like he’s for sure out. While most talk also includes a new Green Lantern, I wouldn’t be opposed to Ryan Reynolds reprising his role. While the movie may not have been the quality film that the character deserves, I don’t think the blame should fall on Reynolds. He was just unable to overcome the horrible writing.

What do you think of this focus on the core 5 members of the Justice League? Are you upset that Aquaman is being left out? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.