Last Friday we visited Warner Bros. Leavesden studios in southeast England to meet with Zack Snyder and the team behind Justice League. It was a last-minute trip and an unprecedented one at that given that we're allowed to discuss what we saw just a few short days later, long before outlets can report on what they may have seen on the sets of other DC movies releasing first (Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman).
But the goal was clear. Snyder and DC Entertainment don't want to hide. They don't want Justice League to be as "corporate" as Batman V Superman Dawn of Justice, and the crew and producers want to make it clear that they saw the fan feedback and that they're doing something different. Only 31 days in on an 111-day shoot, and nearly a year and a half before Justice League opens in theaters, we saw quite a lot on our day trip and tour of the sets, but they did hold back on obvious plot spoilers, avoiding giving away details on the main story.
We'll have a detailed play-by-play report of our day on the set of Justice League later but in the meantime here's a list of many of the things we saw in learned from exploring the production's War Room (where concept art and props were on display), the costume department, multiple sets, a sequence being filmed, a complete scene we screened, and several interviews with the cast, crew, producers, and director Zack Snyder who made the push to make our visit happen.
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Superman is in the Movie
Superman may have "died" in the climactic battle of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice but like most comic book character deaths, that means little. The final scene of BvS clearly shows the dirt above his coffin defying gravity and as producer Deborah Snyder put it best when we visited the War Room of the production for Justice League, "obviously Superman is part of the Justice League."
"And we know where we ended up with him," she continues. "And there wouldn't be a Justice League without Superman. But I think his way back to us we don't want to really spoil that. But he's here. He's back there," she finishes, pointing to a standee cardboard cutout of Henry Cavill suited up in the red and blue beside the other Justice League members.
Superman was entirely absent from the sets we visited, from the costume department, and mostly from the concept art as well for Justice League. According to producer Charles Roven and director Zack Snyder, Superman's return and role in the film is part of the story and not something they want to spoil a year and half out from release.
Justice League is Co-Directed by Joss Whedon
Following the tragic death of Zack Snyder's daughter, the director stepped away from Justice League's production to focus on his family. In his place, Warner Bros. hired Joss Whedon to finish the movie - following the filmmaker's mega-successful work at rival comic book movie studio Marvel. Whedon was understandably humbled by the assignment - and the director looks prepared to enjoy further exploration of the DCEU (as Whedon will helm a Batgirl movie).
Exactly what changes Whedon will make to Justice League are yet to be confirmed; though Affleck recently stated that the superhero team-up movie was now an "interesting product of two directors." How exactly that "produce" will play on the big screen remains to be seen; though, regardless of how it turns out, fans will without question debate whether or not Whedon, as opposed to other filmmakers, was picked because he could help shift the DCEU toward a lighter tone.
Justice League is a Very Different Movie Than BvS
We'll talk more about how the reactions to BvS may have affected Justice League and future plans for the DCEU later, but to make it clear up front, Justice League is a very different beast. It's tonally different, features more diverse characters, is less "dark," and is based on different source material.
We asked director Zack Snyder towards the end of our tour of the sets if he's intentionally making this movie different and if it's going to be more "fun."
Zack Snyder: Well, yes. I would say that to me it's like, again, this evolution -- Batman v Superman I think to me was inherently like, okay, even from conception, from the beginning, when we were first like, "Oh, let's get Batman in the movie!" -- and I've told you guys, we talked about why, how we got Batman in the movie, the whole story of "Who's he gonna fight?" You know, we fought Zod; that's pretty much an alien. Who does he fight next? What do you do? And we were in that -- I was with Chris Nolan, and we were just talking about this idea that, I think the first idea we had was like, "Oh, you know, we'll just show Kryptonite being delivered to Bruce Wayne's house at the end of the movie." I thought, "Oh, that's kinda cool. Huh..." And then I think from there we progressed on to this idea of like, "Oh, let's get --" like once we said in the room "Let's get Batman. What if he fought Batman?" then it's hard to go back. You can't take that away. You can't go, "Oh, you know who else is cool to fight? This guy." Once you say "Batman" out loud, it's gonna be Batman.
I mean, listen, if it's about putting more fun in the movie or embracing some of the more what I would call - because I think it's in all the characters inherently, sort of this larger-than-life, big, fun stuff, especially when you're dealing with the Justice League. You can't - and Flash and with Momoa, when you see, I've been out with Jason and the way that he's interacting with the group, even just in his Jason-ness, the contrast to Ben and to Gal is really interesting and fun. And just to finish my idea, what I was going to say about the "Batman versus Superman" concept, is that inherently also you've got to remember the whole thread of that was to draw those two into conflict. So I wanted to make sure that each of them was - and I felt like they were both evolving, in mind anyway. I think Superman was on his way toward something that I - I wanted to get to a Superman that had a reason to be Superman, like a reason to feel the way he felt about humanity, that we all understand from the comic books as far as he's pretty, as far as a moral compass goes, he's pretty much the thing. But I feel like he had to go through something to be that. And I'm not saying he shows up in this movie...
The Justice League Roster Confirmed
Batman and Wonder Woman team-up and agree to start recruiting metahumans to face greater future threats in the conclusion to BvS and this is what the first Justice League is all about.
Their first recruit is Barry Allen a.k.a. The Flash and later, Cyborg reluctantly joins them as well (we saw this scene being shot). These founding four are later joined by Aquaman who we presume - from what Ben Affleck hinted to us on set - may not see eye to eye with Bruce and/or Diana. We know the members don't all get along at all times and they may come pretty close to coming to blows with each other.
After Aquaman joins though - and we saw concept of him with the team planning a mission and on the Justice League team vehicle (more on that later!) - Superman will of course join as well for what we're guessing is the film's final battle.
For the purposes of the first Justice League movie the team is comprised of these six heroes shown in early concept art above. There have of course been rumors that a Green Lantern could appear, but those are just rumors at that point and there was zero evidence of Green Lantern Corps on our set visit.
History of Zeus and Old Gods Will be Explored
In the War Room, the first pieces of concept art that immediately stood out in addition to our first looks at the characters, locations, and vehicles of the first Justice League movie, were multiple examples of imagery of the ancient versions of the main factions. These shots of what the Atlanteans, Amazonians, and humans look like thousands of years earlier were labelled as "history lessons" of Greek Gods Zeus and Artemis.
Deborah Snyder: I was gonna say in terms of Zeus, I don't wanna like give a history lesson and that's actually a small section of the film that we go back and tell the story of the Mother Boxes, so everyone knows the history. He's in a very small part. Obviously the Apokoliptian technology, the Mother Boxes, gives it a whole sci-fi, you know, flare. But I think it's still our world that they're living in and the characters interact I think as they, you know, it won't be--
Charles Roven: They interact in a real way. Just like they did in Man of Steel. You know, we did say that there's other entities out there. Not just us here on Earth. And so we're just following that track.
Jack Kirby is a Major Influence
While we couldn't get story details including much info on how the DCEU will adapt the old and new gods from DC Comics, or what specific comic book stories the Justice League movie is drawing from, director Zack Snyder did at least tease the inspirations.
This film looks like it's going to be a bit more fun and funnier, but one of the things I love about Man of Steel is the crazy and weird opening on Krypton, and it looks like you're going back to some weird stuff with the boxes and demons.
Zack Snyder: You know, [Jack] Kirby's crazy in a great way, and there's a lot of influence, you know, sort of New God-y, kinda the New Gods stuff, and we were digging on that - and that's the Mother Boxes and that sort of Apokoliptian world and all that stuff. I mean, you can't really do that stuff without some - I don't know if I can call it "weird." [Laughs]
Larger than life?
Zack Snyder: Larger than life! Very nice, thank you. Yeah, but the kinda scope-y, sci-fi, kinda cool, what I think is fun stuff. But yeah, no, I think inherently when you start to talk about - also, a bad guy that would justify the Justice League, not to make a thing, to "Double Justice," but I think you have to have a good threat that's fun and kinda crazy. And the Mother Boxes are always fun DC weird tech, you know?
Speaking of which...
It's All About the Mother Boxes
As teased in a deleted scene from Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice featuring a holograph of Steppenwolf (more on that later) and in the in-movie teaser for the introduction of Silas Stone and Cyborg - who both appear in Justice League - Mother Boxes play a key role in the team-up movie.
The War Room featured concept art of each of the three Mother Boxes - each given to one of the ancient factions and their leaders, and each designed with that faction in mind, an idea production designer Patrick Tatopoulos had when pitching their look to Zack Snyder.
- Humans – Their Mother Box is bronze and looks straight from the comics (pictured above), simple in its design.
- Atlanteans – Appropriate matching the aesthetic of their underwater weapons and armor, the ancient Atlantean King was given a Mother Box that looks crafted from sea shells.
- Amazons – Their mother box was the most impressive looking, blood red in color, lined with greek text and intricate designs
It's the Mother Boxes which seem to be core to the Justice League story, to Cyborg's origins, to what the villains may be after, and perhaps even setting up future DCEU movies.
More: Justice League Movie Villain is Steppenwolf Not Darkseid
A First Look at Atlantis
From left to right on the first wall covered in concept art in the Justice League War Room the first pieces featured three underwater shots of Atlantis. It’s very vibrant with bright blues and greens. No shot highlighted the one-time surface city as a whole but they did feature Aquaman up close to the ancient king’s throne who in modern times appears as a skeleton (more on this later!).
Two of the three Atlantis depictions featured their Mother Box, first sitting at the top of a large spiral staircase pillar at the center of a circular hall and the other a close-up of Aquaman grabbing it - similar imagery to Loki grasping at the Casket of Ancient Winters in the original Thor movie. Around Aquaman, his Merman-esque soldiers swim around.
Aquaman's Supporting Cast is Introduced
Next were some concept art renderings of the main Atlantean characters who appear in Justice League before starring in the Aquaman solo movie. It was here in the War Room where it was first confirmed that Willem Dafoe is playing Vulko, a political adviser of sorts to Aquaman and a veteran among his people.
The concept art and costume department had the costumes for Aquaman and Vulko on display in addition to Amber Heard's Mera character and their soldiers. While Mera and Vulko seem to wear their full armor suits in their appearances in Justice League, Aquaman has a full armor body suit that offers a nod to the comics (orange tinted top and green lower half) while he also dons the costume seen in BvS and official photos and art showing lots of skin and tattoos.
- Aquaman - His full body suit nods to comics with orange-esque top and green bottom.
- Mera - Full green, gold costume, with scaled layered shoulders.
- Vulko - Elegant, even more translucent and weathered (almost silvery). Old and wise.
Tormund Was The Atlantean King
This had yet to be reported or officially announced, and the actor wasn't even listed on the wall of confirmed supporting actors in the War Room while we were on the set of Justice League, but Norwegian actor Kristofer Hivju was definitely the inspiration for the character's design.
Hivju, best known as the lovable Wildling leader Tormund in Game of Thrones, was depicted as playing the Ancient Atlantean King in art of the civilization from thousands of years in the past - back when Atlantis was still above water. There was also art of the ancient Amazonians and humans as well from this era, when each were given Mother Boxes, but in the present day, we also saw other art of Aquaman near the throne of Atlantis were the ancient king is just a skeleton.
Aquaman Wears Civilian Clothing
Of all the Justice League characters featured in the War Room concept art, it was a bit of a running joke among those visiting the movie set that virtually only Aquaman had a standalone piece of concept art featuring him in "civil attire," literally only wearing jeans.
Barefoot and bare-chested, Jason Momoa's take on Arthur Curry upper body makes up for it in full body tattoos.
Themyscira is Back
Next, the Amazonians. Concept art of Themyscira featured an island, with a old and round stone bunker on it near a cliff edge. One interior shot showcased a great hall of sorts, again old, plain with legions of Amazon soldiers around layers of the circumference, uniform in stance and look. This land will obviously be central to the solo Wonder Woman movie (in modern day and in WWI) opening in theaters before Justice League, but this movie will build off that even more, showcasing the Amazons thousands of years in the past and in the present.
The characters featured in the art:
- Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) - Gold everywhere, a sight to behold.
- Euboea (Samantha Jo) - Showing much more skin, attire mostly comprised of leathers compared to the others.
- Serague
- Melanippe (Lisa Loven Kongsli) - Purple attire, unique in its vibrant colors.
- Queens Guards - uniform in their designs.
As we know from the Wonder Woman solo movie, Hippolyta is still Queen thousands of years later.
S.T.A.R. Labs is Explored
S.T.A.R. Labs had multiple pieces of art and plays a big part of the movie. Protective containment chambers with a figure wearing a Hazmat suit seemed to be the focus, with other art showing halls, all open concept and tech-y looking. One shot also featured a robotics looking lab with a robot arm extending from the ceiling. This place focuses on energy and robotics research and doesn't look like the S.T.A.R. Labs from The Flash TV show on The CW.
One piece was titled “Silas Lab” and of course is where Silas Stone, father of Cyborg who we saw in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, works. We know from watching a scene being shot that the "head of " S.T.A.R. Labs - presumably Silas - is kidnapped by Parademons which forces Cyborg into joining Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash to join forces and head underground in search of him.
Commissioner Gordon Has An Important Role
Ben Affleck is an exec producer on Justice League because he's involved more on the creative side now as well and there are elements in this movie that will directly connect to his in-development Batman solo movie, including of course Commissioner Gordon (J.K. Simmons) and Gotham PD.
In the concept art and on set we saw a sequence where Gordon has activated the bat signal on top of a Gotham rooftop to summon Batman and his super friends. Batman shows up with The Flash and Wonder Woman and are quickly joined by Cyborg, bringing the team-up to four heroes. They work with Jim Gordon to locate where a Parademon nest is and solve the mystery of high profile kidnappings in Gotham and Metropolis.
Gordon, as expected, sports a wig and thick, bushy mustache and wears and old trench coat and hat. He looks like an old school detective.
Willem Dafoe's Role
When news broke that Willem Dafoe was joining the DCEU, reports indicated he'd be playing a "good guy" Atlantean character and we can confirm this is indeed the case. Dafoe is playing Vulko, the political adviser of Aquaman.
His costume, similar to Aquaman's and Mera's is far more elegant, and even more translucent and weathered (almost silvery). It's clear he's old and wise compared to other Atlanteans.
More: Details on Willem Dafoe's Vulko Character
Batmobile Upgrades
The original Batjet was destroyed in the Doomsday confrontation in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice but the iconic Batmobile returns, and this time it’ll be able to do a lot more. Some of the features of the vehicle developed but not seen in BvS will be on display in Justice League, including the vehicle’s ability to raise and lower itself.
The big changes however are in just how many weapons the Batmobile gets equipped with. The front and center hood turret is now a missile launcher with six tubes, and a pair of Gatling guns (bigger than the BvS guns!) sit mounted on each side of the hood closer to the vehicle’s front window. Wing-shaped elements of the vehicle near the side of the cockpit on each side house even more rocket-based weaponry, and the biggest addition of all is roof mounted cannon. This particular heavy gun, which we didn’t see on set, but was featured in the art, serves as artillery and the vehicle deploys stabilizing legs on each side before it can fire. For the gamers out there, think of how it functions like a StarCraft tank in “Siege Mode.”
Batman Gets A New Costume
Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck)'s main Batman costume is nearly the same as it was in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (pictured above) with the one exception in that there are thin armor plates scatted around the suit under the mesh for added protection. Later in the film, he develops and sports an entirely new outfit however.
Costume designer Michael Wilkinson compares Batman's second Justice League costume concept to an old school warrior where armor isn't always symmetrical, where sometimes one arm or shoulder could be more padded. The second outfit, the new one for Justice League, features far more armor and a new, more durable cape alongside heavy armor on the back of the cowl itself. It's difficult to tell from the artwork along since the actual costume is still being made on set, but it appears to have metal, silver-colored panels on it. It's not at all like the heavy armor he wore in BvS but on its right arm, there's an exoskeleton enhancement either to compensate for an injury or to give Batman more power with his right hook.
This second Batman costume also has built-in goggles which help catch the light in certain shots and are there with the function of helping Batman pilot a certain vehicle. It's unclear what vehicle that is, but it's unlikely the Batmobile, Crawler, or Flying Fox - it could be another, hover bike type vehicle we saw a sketch of in the War Room.
Batman Has A Mech
The Nightcrawler (“Crawler”) is an old military vehicle (not armed) designed by Wayne family in the ‘60s. It’s a four-treaded tank with each tread on a separate leg so it can walk. It’s special function is that at can pierce into surfaces with each leg to climb up walls or hang from roof. It’s big.
Its cockpit interior is based on function, like a forklift. It has one command seat and two fold-out benches. The art we saw depicts Batman driving it with Flash, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg tagging along as it travels through an underground tunnel network to the Stryker’s Island ventilation shaft (more on this later) which is part of an underground network abandoned in 1929 that was designed to bridge Gotham and Metropolis together. Here a big action sequence takes place where the four heroes, with the Crawler, battle Parademons near their nest.
The Justice League Has A Team Vehicle
Where the Crawler is an old machine that finds itself useful in Justice League, the modern Batman ride in the film is the new JLT trooper carrier (the “Flying Fox”). It's a massive state of the art flying vehicle that essentially serves as the Justice League team cruiser. It’s housed suspended from the ceiling in “Batjet Hangar” near a Gotham port. This location's design is inspired by Submarine bays and we walked through this hangar later in the day. The hangar itself is fully built and the interior rooms and cockpit of the Flying Fox will be constructed later in production for shooting.
The concept art of the Flying Fox also featured a gunner cockpit with triple cannons on each side, with another image showing Alfred (Jeremy Irons) serving as the gunner inside of it - continuing his role as field support as he was in BvS.
There are three levels of the vehicle, the top being the cockpit, the middle deck housing weapon racks and seating (where Aquaman was drawn in) and the lower deck has cargo space and houses the Batmobile as well as a deployment ramp for entering/exiting the vehicle.
There's Another Batcave (Batjet Hangar)
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice provided moviegoers with their first look at the world of Batman in the DCEU, and specifically the Batcave where Bruce Wayne and his closest ally Alfred work away on Batman tech, weapons, and the Batmobile. That underwater location however, accessible through the nearby lake isn't where the Batjet was located.
That Batjet may have been destroyed but the Batjet Hangar (or the Wayne Hangar as it's also known as) plays a major part in Justice League. It's where Batman and the newly formed Justice League will operate from and where the team vehicle, the Flying Fox, is stored suspended from the ceiling.
This location was a big focus on much of the War Room concept art from our set visit and we had the opportunity to walk through the actual set where computers, gear, tools, weapons are stored alongside the Batmobile, Bruce Wayne's sports car and a motorcycle also are. It is here where the Justice League will team-up to plan out the final battle of the movie.