Warners Bros. superhero overload? Flash & Green Lantern get their own films

Ok- now this is getting confusing.

Despite not even having a set cast, George Miller's Justice League of America is already getting a spin-off film. David Dobkin, who directed laughers Wedding Crashers, as well as the upcoming Fred Claus, has been signed by Warner Bros to direct The Flash, based on the same DC Comics super hero that supposedly figures prominently in JLA. The latest version of the JLA script is rumored to feature the Wally West incarnation of The Flash, and according to Aint-It-Cool-News, the proposed Flash film, will also center around Wally West. Supposedly Adam Brody of The O.C is the front runner to don The Flash's famous red tights in Miller's  Justice League of America.

Now Variety is reporting that Warners has hired tv vet Greg Berlanti (current exec producer and writer on ABC's Dirty Sexy Money) to co-write and direct a big screen adaptation of The Green Lantern, another hero that figures in Miller's JLA. However, the Green Lantern film centers around the silver age Hal Jordan incarnation of the hero. Aint-It-Cool-News is reporting that only the latter day Lantern John Stewart, figures in the Justice League of America script. Does that mean the Green Lantern film will be a separate entity, like Christopher Nolan's Batman films, or Bryan Singer's take on Superman?

Confused yet?

Frankly, despite the involvement of George Miller, I think the idea of a Justice League of America film is a bad idea. Screens are being flooded with super hero films these days, and with Justice League in the pipeline, along with the Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight, Singers upcoming Superman Returns sequel, and now The Flash & The Green Lantern– all coming from the same studio (Warners owns the DC Conic label) this definitely seems like overkill.

A Justice League film threatens to derail Nolan's successful re-launch of the Batman franchise, as well as Singer's proposed Superman sequel (a film I seriously doubt will ever get made). The only way a JLA film would be really interesting would be to incorporate the Christian Bale version of Batman, and the Brandon Routh version of Superman (which will never happen)- or make the casting REALLY interesting. My choice to play Batman– Michael Keaton.

Keaton's in his fifties, but in Frank Miller's landmark graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, Batman is 60. Keaton could definitely play and aging Batman. If the JLA was successful, they could even potentially make a film version of The Dark Knight Returns.
 
Now that would be a film character worth revisiting.

That said, George Miller is a great director- his Road Warrior still ranks as one of the greatest action films every made, 25 years after the fact. If Miller gets a good cast together, and tackles a smart screenplay- Justice League of America might not become the disaster many are predicting.

Only time will tell.