A Justice League Dark TV show is ordered to series at HBO Max, developed by filmmaker J.J. Abrams as part of his WarnerMedia deal. Warner Bros. has a wide variety of DC Comics adaptations across all forms of movies and television. On the big screen, they have their DC Extended Universe continuity of films, while last year's success for Joker proves the studio can expand into comic book movies outside the DCEU. On television, there's The CW's Arrowverse as well as the lineup of shows on the DC Universe subscription platform. And when HBO Max launches later this year, that will be another home for new DC content.
Previously, HBO Max announced some DC Comics adaptations, including the upcoming Green Lantern TV show. It was also reported earlier this year that Abrams was developing his own DC projects, including movies and TV shows based on Justice League Dark. Now, at least one of those projects is officially moving forward.
A Justice League Dark TV show is one of three developed by Abrams and his production company Bad Robot that received straight to series orders from HBO Max. No story or character details were revealed about the Justice League Dark series, so it's unclear what the show will be about or even which comic book characters will appear. In addition to Justice League Dark, HBO Max ordered a series set in Stephen King's The Shining universe titled Overlook, and an original drama called Duster.
As their name suggests, Justice League Dark is made up of DC Comics superheroes who handle situations that are darker and more mystical than the Justice League is used to. The team has appeared in animation before, and though there have been attempts to adapt Justice League Dark to film, those projects have stalled. Most well known is Guillermo del Toro's Justice League Dark movie, but he eventually moved on from the project. Various characters from Justice League Dark have shown up in other live-action movies or TV shows, with John Constantine being adapted to both the 2005 movie and the short-lived NBC TV show. (Matt Ryan's Constantine found a second life in the Arrowverse.) DC Universe also developed a Swamp Thing TV show, that was setting up for a Justice League Dark team, but it was cancelled after one season.
It's unclear if either Constantine or Swamp Thing will appear in Abrams' Justice League Dark show, but they are regulars on the superhero team's roster. Additional characters included in the original lineup are Zatanna, Madame Xanadu, Deadman and Shade the Changing Man, while other heroes to join the team at various points include Man-Bat, Etrigan the Demon and Black Orchid. As such, there are plenty of characters who could appear in this Justice League Dark series, but perhaps the ones fans would most like to see are Constantine, Swamp Thing and Zatanna. While we may not know much about Abrams' Justice League Dark TV show yet, the series is now moving forward at HBO Max and hopefully more details will be revealed.
Source: HBO Max