While Guillermo del Toro may be a master at bringing fantasy creatures to life, director Doug Liman confirms that none of his ideas for Justice League Dark would’ve included any of his predecessor’s work.

Before Zack Snyder’s gritty slate of DC movies shaped the untitled DCEU fans see today, Justice Leauge Dark was tipped to center on a rag-tag ensemble of macabre Justice League alternatives. Although del Toro’s attachment to the project back in 2012 sounded like a match made in heaven, he eventually left the project and Liman signed on as director instead. Now that the Edge of Tomorrow filmmaker is off the movie too, he is opening up on what could and couldn’t have been.

Speaking at WonderCon 2018 (via Screen Geek), Liman had the following to offer when asked how similar his version of Justice League Dark was to del Toro’s vision:

“It was completely different. I may do these sort of big high concept movies, but I always choose projects where I see myself in them. There has to be a really personal connection to it. At the end of the day, I wasn’t gonna find myself in Del Toro’s version of Justice League Dark. I just wouldn’t see myself in that. That’s why I basically have to develop the things that I’m gonna make”

The words aren’t necessarily a criticism of what del Toro had in mind, but it confirms that Liman intended on starting from the ground up when it came to JLD. At least he had the faith in his own ability as a director to cast off del Toro’s ideas and work on his own. Although Liman says he is open on returning to Justice League Dark, the movie currently finds itself in limbo alongside other DC films like Gotham City Sirens, Batgirl, and Justice League 2.

Given the positive reception to the animated Justice League Dark movie, a live-action film is still one of the most exciting DC ideas out there. While del Toro was said to have been influenced by the love story of Alec Holland (aka. Swamp Thing) and his wife Abigail, Liman has yet to reveal exactly what tale he wanted to tell in the film. Similarly, whereas Joseph Kahn has shared Justice League Dark concept art from his pitch, Liman remains more cagey about showing what the eponymous League would have looked like in his version. Here’s to hoping that changes, somewhere down the line.

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Source: Screen Geek

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