Warning: SPOILERS for Justice League!

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We finally have a Justice League movie, but this wasn't Warner Bros' first attempt at bringing DC's greatest heroes together - and the DCEU's version has some similarities to George Miller's failed Justice League: Mortal. Director Zack Snyder (with a big assist from Joss Whedon) has brought the World's Greatest Superheroes to the big screen in an adventure to save the world. It's important to note, however, that a Justice League film almost happened back in the late-2000s, when director George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road) came close to rolling cameras on Justice League: Mortal.

How similar is Zack Snyder's Justice League to Miller's abandoned vision? What aspects of Justice League: Mortal may have been lifted for the movie that was eventually made? Could any part of Miller's film actually have been an improvement compared to the film now in theaters? And why didn't Mortal ever see the light of day? Let's take a look at the Justice League movie that could have been:

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WHAT WAS JUSTICE LEAGUE: MORTAL?

George Miller and the Justice League with Armie Hammer as Batman

Long before there was a DC Extended Universe, George Miller planned to tell the ultimate Justice League story in his ambitious film. Written by Kieran and Michele Mulroney, Mortal was based upon the wildly popular Justice League: Unlimited animated series, with its story an adaptation of Mark Waid's Tower of Babel storyline, in which Batman's strategies on how to defeat the League if they ever turned on Mankind were unearthed by a villain and used against the heroes.

The cast Miller assembled consisted of Armie Hammer as Batman, D.J. Cotrona as Superman, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, Adam Brody as The Flash (Barry Allen), Common as Green Lantern John Stewart, Santiago Cabrera as Aquaman, Hugh Keays-Byrne as the Martian Manhunter, Zoe Kazan as Iris West, Jay Baruchel as Maxwell Lord, and Teresa Palmer as Talia al Ghul.

Production on Mortal would have begun in Miller's native Australia in February 2008 but Warner Bros. placed the production on hold citing issues with the huge budget, which was upwards of $200 million, and issues with the script (which were exacerbated when the Writers Guild of America strike in early 2008 then made rewrites impossible). Warner Bros. also decided that production would be moved to Canada, in spite of Miller's insistence for the film to be shot at FOX Studios in his homeland. Another issue was director Christopher Nolan, who was in the midst of post-production on The Dark Knight, expressing his displeasure at another version of Batman appearing on the big screen. With Miller, the budget, the screenplay and the studio all at loggerheads, the options for the cast were allowed to expire and Justice League: Mortal's production was ultimately abandoned.

JUSTICE LEAGUE Vs. JL: MORTAL - SIMILARITIES

Ezra Miller as The Flash in Justice League

In terms of makeup, both films feature a similar, comic-rooted League, with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Aquaman all at the core. Alongside them, though, Mortal would have included Green Lantern (who was teased in Justice League) and the Martian Manhunter instead of Cyborg (Ray Fisher), mainly because Victor Stone was only made a founding member of the League in place of the Manhunter during DC Comics' The New 52 reboot in 2011.

Related: Is Justice League Worse Than Batman v Superman?

Both films would have charted the formation of the League, with the heroes choosing to band together and formally becoming the JLA by the end. However, in Mortal, the supers were generally more experienced and famous than they are in Snyder's film, which began with Superman deceased and the majority of the team unknowns. In Miller's vision, most of the superheroes already knew each other at least by reputation before Maxwell Lord's villainy brought them together.

Mortal's POV character was The Flash, who like the 2017 film is also the Barry Allen version and the most exuberant of the heroes, providing much of the comic relief. However, as Mortal was conceived before Geoff Johns' The Flash: Rebirth comics reworked Barry Allen's origin, there was no backstory involving Barry's father Henry Allen in prison for the murder of his mother. Further, Barry is already married to Iris West, with her little brother Wally established as Kid Flash.

The Justice League fighting Superman also seems to be written into the DNA of both Justice League films. Unlike the brief battle in Snyder's film following Superman's resurrection, however, in Mortal, the Man of Steel is mind-controlled by Maxwell Lord and forced to fight his fellow heroes, though it's primarily Wonder Woman who goes to toe to toe with Superman in a pitched and brutal battle on Earth and in outer space. One other, semi-superficial change was Aquaman no longer being a blonde Caucasian as in the comic books, in this case with was also eschewed in Mortal with the Chilean-British Santiago Cabrera in the role.

Ray FIsher Cyborg Justice League

JUSTICE LEAGUE Vs. JL: MORTAL - DIFFERENCES

There are far more differences between Justice League and Mortal than there are similarities, however. Instead of an alien invasion from Apokolips, the League's enemy is billionaire industrialist (and Planet Krypton restauranteur - another nod to Mark Waid and his Kingdom Come miniseries) Maxwell Lord, who recruits Batman's former flame Talia al Ghul to his cause. It was Talia who stole Batman's secrets on how to take down his fellow superheroes by using the Dark Knight's secret weakness against him: "love". Lord and Talia then utilize Batman's strategies against the heroes while also taking control of Batman's Brother Eye satellite and turning ordinary people into OMAC soldiers to fight the League.

Unlike how Batman was desperate to create a team to fight Steppenwolf in Snyder's film, Miller's Batman was desperate for a different reason: to uncover how his plans were stolen and who the culprit was. For a while, Bruce Wayne also hid the truth from his fellow heroes before he confessed he's the cause of the attacks they were suffering from. The Dark Knight and Man of Steel also had more of a friendly relationship in Mortal; Batman never tried to personally murder Superman like he did in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Related: 15 Things You Didn't Know About George Miller's Justice League: Mortal

In addition to their iconic hero status, the main characters in Mortal were also more established in their individual lives than they are in Justice League. Diana Prince was a world-famous United Nations Ambassador who represents Themyscira and the Amazons, the existence of which are publicly known. This is in contrast to Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, who has been exiled from Themyscira for a century and only decides to make herself a beacon of hope to the world at the end of Justice League. Similarly, Aquaman in Mortal is the reigning King of Atlantis who mistrusts the surface world, and not the angry exile Jason Momoa portrayed.

The DC Universe Miller planned to depict in Mortal was considerably more expansive than the DCEU as it currently stands. The addition of Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter and their mythologies add an intergalactic scope, and this version of Superman had a Fortress of Solitude, which the heroes used as a base and sanctuary. There's even an alien threat setup at the very end: Starro the Conqueror.

One of the biggest differences in Mortal is that, fitting to its title, a Justice Leaguer dies in the movie. Mortal opens with the team attending a funeral for one of their own and by the end it's revealed Barry Allen is in the casket. Flash sacrificed himself to the Speed Force to stop Maxwell Lord, leading to Wally West taking Barry's place in the League. Killing a major superhero like the Flash in a movie where he was the POV character would have been a gutsy move for sure, especially given how straight-up the rest of the film was.

Indeed, Miller conceived a DC Universe movie that closely hewed to what was depicted in the comics of that era. Mortal is packed with superheroes, villains, battles, and many Easter eggs and references that would have pleased DC fans. The challenge Miller might have found insurmountable would be how to give adequate screen time to so many characters, most of whom at that point in time were unfamiliar to moviegoing audiences and needed more time to have their backstories, motivations and personalities established than a single film could provide. Superman and Batman were the only heroes who had headlined movies, and Mortal's take on them was decidedly different to what fans had seen before. Mortal aimed to deliver mind-blowing superhero action no one had ever seen in a movie before, although based on that high budget it might have ended up being a convoluted mess that would have bitten off far more than it could chew.

Related: Is The Flash Faster Than Superman?

Meanwhile, the Justice League we got is a culmination of Zack Snyder and his production team's work establishing the DCEU over three films. Outside of a few coincidental similarities in themes and plot, Snyder's Justice League doesn't bear much resemblance to the movie George Miller intended to make. That said, while the screenplay to Justice League: Mortal can be found online, some production art has leaked and many of the principals involved have spoken about what they intended to film, we'll never truly know how it could have come to together.

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If there is such a thing as a Multiverse in real life, then somewhere out there is another Earth where Justice League: Mortal made it to theaters. Those DC fans thrilled to a movie that we can only imagine.

NEXT: JUSTICE LEAGUE'S ENDING EXPLAINED

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