The DC Extended Universe just can not catch a break at this point. Days after it was announced that Zack Snyder was departingJustice Leagueover a recent family tragedy, leaving Joss Whedon to step in and finish the movie, another one of Warner Bros.' in-the-works superhero movies has lost a director. Now, it isEdge of TomorrowDoug Liman who has been forced to part ways with the studio’s long-gestating adaptation ofJustice League Dark, akaDark Universe.
The news comes fromVariety, who is reporting that Doug Liman is leavingJustice League Darkover scheduling issues, not over creative differents with Warner Bros. He was also attached to directChaos Walkingfor Lionsgate, which starsStar Wars: The Force Awakens' Daisy Ridley, which was recently given the greenlight. It looks like the filming ofChaos Walkingwill get in the way of what Warner Bros. has planned forJustice League Dark, so the project now needs to find yet another director.
Prior to Doug Liman stepping in, Guillermo Del Toro had been working on theJustice League Darkmovie for the studio for a very long time. After he decided to leave the project, the studio managed to court Liman last year. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out in the long run. This is also the second major comic book movie thatDoug Limanhas left, as he was also attached to direct theGambitmovie for Fox. But when things stalled out, he decided to move on from that project as well.
In case you aren’t familiar,Justice League Darkfirst appeared as a DC Comics title back in 2011. The series features mostlysupernatural characterslike John Constantine, Deadman,Swamp Thingand Zatanna. The team takes on missions that the regularJustice Leagueisn’t fit to tackle and a lot of the storytelling centers on supernatural andoccult elements. An animated movie based on the comic was released last year and greeted with enthusiasm by fans. Both Doug Liman and Guillermo Del Toro seemed like good fits for the project, but now Warner Bros. is forced to look elsewhere for someone to helm the troubled project. This andThe Flashmovie have now lost several directors for various reasons, adding to the trouble going on behind-the-scenes for the DCEU.
Michael Gilio is currently writing the script for theJustice League Dark Movie, but that may change depending on what direction Warner Bros. decides to go with it, now that a new director will be coming into the picture. Variety notes that the studio is already taking meetings withreplacement directorsand should have a new one in place shortly. No names were mentioned, so it is nearly impossible to speculate as to who could be in line for the job. At least, in this case, Doug Liman reportedly didn’t leave over creative differences or anything like that, so it may be easier for the studio to find a quality director to step in and take over work onJustice League Dark. We will be sure to keep you up to date on the situation as more details are made available.
