The DCEU has produced some of its best work in animated form, like the excellent Flashpoint Paradox and Batman: Under the Red Hood. And while there are the occasional misfires like the recent The Killing Joke adaptation, Justice League Dark looks like it’ll be up to par.
When demonic creatures influence humans into committing terrible crimes, Batman goes to assemble the Justice League Dark, a group of heroes that have magical powers. This includes John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Zatanna, Deadman, Etrigan the Demon, and potentially more. This team-up is going to have a lot to offer, and might even get its own film line if it does well enough. This will be the first Justice League animated movie with an R-rating, and the second in the whole animated universe (the first was the aforementioned The Killing Joke). While the trailer is full of serious moments, the best is when at the end, a character asks Batman “Your life is a patchwork of blackness with no time for joy — how do you cope with it?” To which is snakily replies, “I have a butler.”
Joining the cast is Jason O’Mara as Batman, Camilla Luddington as Zatanna, Matt Ryan as John Constantine, Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman, Jerry O’Connell as Superman, Roger Cross as both Swamp Thing and John Stewart/Green Lantern, Nicholas Turturro as Deadman, and Alfred Molina as Destiny. With such a strong cast, one can be assured of the quality of the performance, even if the story falters.
There’s no word yet at to when Justice League Dark will be available for purchase, but it should be released sometime in early 2017.
