The World is Ready for The Justice League

Enthralled is be the keyword expected from the fans of DC’s iconic Justice League as its movie will break into the cinema screens tomorrow. 

Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie, which is the first ever silver screen epic made for the legendary league, features all-star cast such as Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher.

The film also brings back Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta and Joe Morton as Silas Stone, and expands the universe by introducing J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, and Amber Heard as Mera. 

A production of epic proportion, the film revolves around Bruce Wayne ― famously known for his vigilante alter ego Batman (played by award-winning actor and director Ben Affleck) ― whose faith in humanity has been restored. 

Moved by Superman’s selfless act, he enlists the help of his newfound ally Diana Prince or Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to face an even greater enemy.

Together, they quickly find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against the newly awakened threat. Nevertheless, despite the formation of the unprecedented heroic league that is also comprised Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller), it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.  

Picking up shortly after the scene where Bruce and Diana went their separate ways, Justice League reconnects these two characters who may not lead to the same road but motivated to accomplish their shared goal, which is to do right by the sacrifice that Superman made. 

Their common enemy is Steppenwolf, an eight-foot tall warrior from the nightmare world of Apokolips. Not an ordinary villain, Steppenwolf seeks the power to conquer the world and transform it into his own.

“Just the idea of getting the Justice League together on the same playing field, taking their place in the cinematic landscape as a team and embarking on an amazing adventure,” says director Zack Snyder, “the mere concept of it was awe-inspiring.”

For producer Charles Roven, who has produced more than half a dozen films in the genre, he reasoned out that honouring the canon and finding new ways to reinvigorate, reinventing and creating additional lore for a different medium is rewarding.

“Hopefully the result is something for everyone, fans old and new,” he says.  “And now, with all these characters coming together for the first time, we’re able to introduce a few new characters for movie audiences to get to know…and to follow in the future.”

Producer Deborah Snyder adds, “These characters all have such unique personalities, and such different powers and abilities, and the chance to pool them together to see how powerful they can be as a unit was such a thrill.  Not to mention the urgency of their mission.  There’s no time to practice.  It’s game on from the moment they come together, because this is an extremely formidable enemy.”

To form “Justice League”, the story takes the end of the earth and beyond from a gritty Gotham to the Central City, the populous Paris and the frozen wilderness of Iceland. Wonder Woman’s birthplace, Themyscira, and the Atlantis, where Aquaman holds his domain, is also featured alongside the buzzing Metropolis and Superman’s serene Smallville. 

Furthermore, attributes such as wisdom, compassion, courage and strength with the addition of superior cybernetics, super speed and seriously stealth Bat-transports ― the honoured codes of DC Comics – rest assured will bring forth the splendour of this supremely action-packed film.

Made at extraordinary scale, Justice League merges the best of both worlds – technical and artistry. Take Batman for instance. His armoured suit aside, for Batman, whose wealth is his superpower, his weapons include a fleet of high-powered vehicles, and one of the greatest in his arsenal is the Batmobile.  

The vehicle has earned its reputation as the apex predator on the mean streets of Gotham City.  Imposing in built (thanks to the little extra armour) and combined with the latest in covert military grade armaments, the ride is powered by an unmatched hybrid of prototype military and civilian performance technologies with estimated speeds of up to 205 MPH.

“We’re battling aliens now,” says production designer Patrick Tatopoulos, “so this thing needed to be pumped up.  But when you look at it, you’ll still know it’s that car.  And that’s the thing: we didn’t want to reinvent the Batmobile completely, because it was designed in such a way that aspects of it could be transformed, changed, or upgraded.  For example, it was designed in the last project to be able to raise and lower itself, but it never had to because the car travelled on regular roads.  But in this movie, we have some serious off-road work, and so we finally get to see all the car can do.”

“One of my favourite things to film was when I jumped on the Batmobile—that was badass!” grins Jason Momoa.  “I was like, I cannot believe I’m surfing the Batmobile right now!”

Costume designer Michael Wilkinson also reveals that there will be a new Batsuit for fans to see at the third act of the movie. Referred to as the “tactical suit,” it was designed, says Affleck, “for Batman to wear for the higher-level battle, when we have to get more serious and deadlier.  The suit is more armoured and more tricked out.”

It was also the toughest costume to make.  Wilkinson notes, “Because of the physicality of the Batman character, there was so much that Ben and his stunt doubles had to do…and to do it while creating this hulking silhouette that Zack was after, this tower of muscle and brawn.  To achieve that and make the costume comfortable—not too hot, not too claustrophobic, and very flexible—was super-challenging.”

In Cyborg’s case, Wilkinson and his concept artists came up with an immensely detailed 3D model of Cyborg. The defining graphic language and the textures speak of an alien world. 

The model is then handed over to the visual department where the look continued to be developed under Snyder’s direction and guided by the actor’s performance.

“As soon as Zack and I started talking about this character,” recalls Wilkinson, “it became clear pretty quickly that his costume would have to be a CG thing.  Cyborg’s technology is extremely alien; if we had had to make the suit, then inevitably we would have had to resort to hinges and screws and ball sockets, things that we’ve seen before.”

For the shoot, Ray Fisher ore a blue-dotted performance capture suit that the skilled VFX artists would digitally replace, under the supervision of visual effects supervisor DJ DesJardin. Unlike other super heroes, 

The Flash, who has neither money nor heritage, uses his extreme intelligence and his technology savviness to create a suit that would protect him from high speeds and high temperature. For his suit, over 100 pieces were handcrafted to create the costume.

“It’s made up of innovative new materials, but they’re scratched and busted-up, some of the panels are missing, or they’ve just got the undercoat.  Then on top of that you have a complex system of wires that crisscross the body to create this incredible sort of matrix across the surface of the costume,” the designer expounds.  

“Zack really wanted it to feel like a prototype suit, the very first manifestation of The Flash putting together a look.”

“Barry’s young, a nerd; he would likely go online, research perhaps what NASA is doing, or look into vehicle and place design to see how things move through space very quickly,” Wilkinson further notes. “He would probably have stolen a 3D printer to build his own parts. So, his costume has this fantastic blend of high technologies like heat-resistant materials and prototype, aerodynamic shapes, mixed with his grassroots skater punk aesthetic.”

As for Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, the costume retains the essential aesthetics as seen in all three filems and there is a definite visual continuity. Together with Lindy Hemming, they spent a couple of weeks to research the world of Wonder Woman and came up with a visual language for the Amazon race.  

“In ‘Justice League,’ it’s a little bit more vibrant compared to ‘Batman v Superman,’ and has a little bit more glow” Wilkinson enthuses, “but the main iconic elements—the star and tiara, her lasso, the rig for her sword and shield, the eagle across the chest plate, and the WW in the belt—are all exactly the same.”

“Wearing my costume felt like the most normal thing because I had been doing it for six months before,” Gadot states.  “But seeing everyone else wearing their own costumes was wonderful.  I remember the first three days, I kept looking at all the guys and me in costume, and I just kept laughing because it felt so surreal.  So many Super Heroes, standing together.  It was really great to be shooting this movie.”

Nevertheless, with the combined strength and distinctive dynamics possessed by the heroes, as well as the application of breakthrough rides and weapons, the question is, will the Justice League be able to save the world from the epic threat that has risen and will they stop Steppenwolf from transforming the already vulnerable earth according to his evil intention? 

Let’s find it out in Justice League, opening in cinemas worldwide on 17 November 2017.

*Photos by Clay Enos; TM & © DC Comics/courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

Check your local cinema listing for screening time of Justice League. DC’s Justice League is produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.