J.J. Abrams' Justice League Dark show on HBO Max has reportedly been canceled. For several years, Warner Bros. have been attempting to bring the Justice League Dark team to life in live-action. Based on several supernatural beings in the DC world, Justice League Dark was initially being developed as a feature film. But after years of being stuck in development hell, the studio revamped it to be a TV show on HBO Max, with Abrams as an executive producer. The idea was to set up a new TV and film universe based on the Justice League Dark characters that would also go into a team-up series.
While the Constantine reboot and Madame X series lost their spots at HBO Max, the projects have been shopped around to other outlets without any success. However, it was unclear for the longest time if Justice League Dark was still happening or not on the HBO-branded streaming service. It appears the ensemble drama is not moving forward as The Hollywood Reporter reveals that HBO Max has seemingly scrapped Justice League Dark. At the time of this story's publication, HBO Max, Warner Bros. Discovery, Abrams, or anyone at Bad Robot Productions have not commented on the report.
How James Gunn May Already Be Setting Up Justice League Dark In The DC Universe
Given the lack of word in the last few months, Abrams' Justice League Dark universe being canceled isn't a massive surprise. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the team isn't getting their due in live-action. With the launch of DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran are leading the charge for the new DC Universe. Under their control, they are running TV shows, movies, video games, and animation tied to the DC Universe.
One of the projects they announced in late January was a new Swamp Thing movie, which Logan director James Mangold is eyed to helm. For years, Swamp Thing has also been a member of the Justice League Dark in the comics. With Abrams' plans seemingly axed, maybe Gunn is setting up Justice League Dark to be used in his universe. Swamp Thing could easily serve as a launching point for the supernatural side of the new DC Universe.
Justice League Dark, as a concept, has a lot of untapped potentials that could benefit the DC Universe. While aliens, gods, and metahumans have had a lot of focus in other DC media, the magical and supernatural side of the DC realm hasn't had the same type of spotlight. This would also not be the first time one project gets axed in order for a new version to come to life as part of DC Studios. Greg Berlanti's Green Lantern series got scrapped after being re-developed a second time, with DC Studios now working on Lanterns as a new DC TV show. Perhaps the fate of HBO Max's Justice League Dark will lead to a similar fate under Gunn and Safran's DC Universe plans.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
