Comic Con 2017 saw the release of the eagerly awaited trailer for Justice League. The movie follows on from Batman VS Superman: Dawn of Justice. After Superman’s sacrifice, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince (Batman and Wonder Woman) assemble a team of heroes to face a new threat in the form of Steppenwolf and his massive army of Parademons.
The Flash and Aquaman join Batman and Wonder Woman to face off against Steppenwolf who is searching for three mother boxes (sentient computers) with which he aims to open up boom tubes (a fictional Einstein-Rosen Bridge between dimensions).
Image Source: Justice League Movie via Twitter
Ben Affleck reprises his role as Bruce Wayne/ Batman as does Gal Gadot who recently starred in the Wonder Woman movie as Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman earlier this year. Joining them are Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/ Aquaman, Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/ The Flash and Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/ Cyborg. As they movie comes together, so will these characters to form the Justice League.
The Exclusive Trailer Dissected
The exclusive trailer first shown at Comic Con 2017 opens with an armed robbery that Wonder Woman busts in on, dodging bullets and laying waste to the would-be robbers. Given the recent success of Wonder Woman, which reached $786 million earlier this year, it is a wise step by Warner Brothers to kick off the trailer. Diana is also shown working in in an art museum, where her coworkers are clearly unaware of her alter ego. The next scene focuses on the passing of Superman with the world still in mourning after his sacrifice. A black flag with a white Superman symbol is shown hanging from Tower Bridge in London and the remains of the Superman statue that was destroyed by Doomsday on Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice are still exactly where they had fallen.The voiceover then goes on to say that there is a continuing crime wave spreading around the world now that Superman is gone. Arkham Asylum is also mentioned in the background and Batman is no longer responding to the Bat Signal, still being operated by Commissioner Gordon (played by J.K Simmons).
With both Superman and Batman out of action, it looks like it has fallen onto Wonder Woman’s shoulders to protect humanity. This may be from the time that Bruce Wayne is searching for Aquaman. From here the trailer cuts to a scene between Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince discussing the coming of the age of heroes. Out of an apparently empty span of ocean, the island Themyscira appears – the home of the Amazons and also Diana Prince’s home. One of the three mother boxes is seen on display in what looks like an ancient protective hall. The mother box is engulfed by an energy beam that descends from the sky. Here Steppenwolf enters with a superhero landing that results in the ground beneath him cracking and breaking.
The Amazons are clearly shocked and caught unprepared by his entrance. Steppenwolf’s monologue states that with Diana gone, Themyscira is no longer protected. The trailer then cuts to Aquaman (played by Jason Momoa) deep underwater, then Diane Prince in a night time street that could be either Gotham or Metropolis. Eventually, we see Ray Fisher’s Cyborg looking up through a broken window. Each character is looking intently at something off-scene. Steppenwolf’s voiceover continues to reference the Green Lantern Corps implying that he has already had altercations with them.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DblEwHkde8U&w=1280&h=720]
This could be hinting at a Green Lantern Corps movie in the future. Bruce Wayne is no longer residing in Wayne Manor but at his lakeside glasshouse, by the looks of it However, the next scene in the trailer shows a rather pensive looking Bruce Wayne staring at what appears to be a hologram of superman. It could be that he thinks that Superman is not gone for good and that there may be a way to resurrect him. Next is a rather striking visual of Barry Allen using his power to break through a glass window finger first. The glass cracks and shatters in slow motion as Barry appears to speed through it. This shot gives a taster of how we can expect Barry Allen to use his powers as The Flash. Back on Themyscira, Steppenwolf is facing off against the armed Amazons with fire and debris littering the ground between the two raising doubt as to whether or not any of them will survive the battle with Steppenwolf. The emotional impact on Diana could have a massive effect if Steppenwolf wipes out the people from her home potentially giving her more motivation to fight Steppenwolf. In what appears to be a flashback, a conversation between a more clean-cut Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth (played by Jeremy Irons). Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne appear to be discussing a different problem than Steppenwolf as Alfred mentions exploding penguins referencing one of Batman’s previous encounters with The Penguin. Speaking of bigger problems, the trailer shows a glimpse of the masses of Parademons in Steppenwolf’s army preparing to attack possibly through a boom tube. It looks like Steppenwolf will be opening a path between a dimension where the Parademons are and somewhere on Earth, possibly Gotham or Metropolis.
The Parademons are not the only ones preparing for battle as the next screen shows Aquaman (played by Jason Momoa) discussing the fate of the superheroes in what appears to be one of Batman’s aerial vehicles, the Flying Fox. The Batmobile can be seen clearly in the background and is then seen racing through abandoned streets with fires burning on either side of the road, indicating that some sort of battle may already have taken place. The following scenes show the superheroes working together from The Flash helping Wonder Woman getting to her sword to Cyborg taking control of one of Batman’s vehicles much to the perplexment of Alfred Pennyworth.
What Does it All Mean?
While the visuals and the feel of the trailer like the preceding movies have an overall dark look and feel to them there are elements of humour interjected throughout making this a much lighter and enjoyable movie judging by the trailer. It does look like Warner Brothers have taken on board feedback from the previous Batman and Superman movies. You can be sure that there will also be a huge marketing campaign leading up to and around the theatrical release in November. You can expect similar merchandise to be produced from posters and action figures through to computer games, including a possible expansion to the series of official superhero slots we’ve seen in recent years. Yes, there are Justice League themed slots to be played at online casinos, many of which will give new players free spins with no deposit required in order to try them out.
The fun and entertainment won’t end with watching the movie. The is bound to be a whole Justice League experience from the big screen to the computer screen and the mobile screen.
Image Source: Justice League Movie via Facebook
Justice League brings established superheroes like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman with superheroes like Cyborg, The Flash and Aquaman together on the big screen in a movie that fans of the DC universe have eagerly been expecting and hoping for.
The film looks to be a spectacular addition to the DC extended universe franchise adding a bit of light and levity to the up to now largely darker movies. It would be very easy to draw comparisons between Justice League and the already established Avengers franchise from Marvel – which brought in a record-breaking $1.519 billion in tickets – but Justice League looks to be able to hold its ground if the trailer is anything to go by and more movies from the DC Extended Universe can be expected with even more characters brought to life on screen. One such movie is Aquaman, set to be released in 2018 following the expected success of Justice League. It is safe to say that just like the Marvel Universe there is a lot of life left in the DC Extended Universe and we can expect to see many more superheroes and supervillains on the big screen in the future.