Except, well, I just don't think it can happen.
The main problem is that, sorry DC, but a lot of your characters aren't very good.
Lets look at the evidence here. The Justice League, comprised of various members of the DC universe, but these tend to be the big seven. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and more often than not Martian Manhunter.
Superman - Ok, the icon, the ultimate hero. Self sacrifice, honour, truth, justice, the American way. Oh crap you blew it already. This guy is probably the hardest to write for I would think, backed up by the fact that five out of ten of his top stories are all origin re-tellings. He is too powerful, there is nothing on Earth that can stop him, except, conveniently placed lumps of Kryptonite. He just killed his only equal, so you have to rely on guys more intelligent, Lex Luthor, and Brainiac, or out and out Gods.
Batman - The best character by far in the DC universe. Got two recent solid movies and will always be the best character they have, mainly because he would fit perfectly into the Marvel Universe, with almost no issue at all.
Wonder Woman - Amazon Goddess, sent out into the world by her mother to fight evil with a lasso of truth. I know almost nothing about Wonder Woman, because every time I read any, I get bored and lose interest. I'm not against strong female characters either. A properly done Birds of Prey TV series could be fantastic.
The Flash - This guy has some really crappy villains, but he does have an arch nemesis with the same super speed powers, but his name is Professor Zoom. Yes really. Although I have enjoyed, quite a few Flash stories, I am just not sure if he could hold his own movie. That being said, the TV series wasn't bad, but people expect so much more nowadays than the simple cop show premise of a TV series.
Green Lantern - Ok they screwed up the movie for this. Mindless cheesy rubbish, probably the worst superhero movie since Batman And Robin. And yet, it did show small glimmers of hope. With some decent writing maybe, just maybe, they could make this work. Great background, great stories. Yes and GL movie is gonna be loaded with CGI, because his imagination is his power. But you could also have some fun with it too. For me this works slightly better than Man of Steel, because it is pure fantasy, and doesn't pretend otherwise. The cheesy writing in places is awful though and destroys any real get up and go.
Aquaman - This guy can't even keep his own comic book series going. Fine if they are at sea, but otherwise just a fish out of water (sorry.)
Martian Manhunter - Along with Aquaman, cannot keep a series going, often replaced in the Justice League by Hawkman (don't ask, just think of Prince Vultan from Flash Gordon, but less shouty.)
Less than half of these can hold a solo movie together. Unless you dispense with origins and go straight for the Justice League movie (you can't put five origins in a movie, it would just be dull) then you would have to launch them over a few years, and they just aren't strong enough characters for people to give a monkeys.
Now, let's be honest here. Not all of these guys need to hold a solo movie. Black Widow and Hawkeye are both B list, but fitted into the movie nicely. You don't need an Aquaman or Martian Manhunter movie to introduce these guys. You could get away with a quick profile by Batman or Superman while deciding to add them to the team.
But you still have the problem that these are all massive fantasy characters, from a huge fantasy universe, and Warner Bros are just too scared to go all out with this. All the Marvel characters so far fit into an almost real universe. This is intelligent selection on Marvel's part. I don't believe they would of had the same success had Phase One started with Rocket Raccoon and a Howard the Duck reboot. But now they have the success, they can take a risk with "the Avengers in space", so to speak, with Guardians of the Galaxy.
Maybe I am wrong on all this, and maybe Warner just need to get comic book guys, writing comic book movies. Maybe there is a great DC Phase One, with great Man of Steel 2, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and The Flash movies. Maybe in 4 years, a Justice League movie will hit our screens and impact like The Avengers did. But if I am honest I can't even see it getting that far.
Now, let's be honest here. Not all of these guys need to hold a solo movie. Black Widow and Hawkeye are both B list, but fitted into the movie nicely. You don't need an Aquaman or Martian Manhunter movie to introduce these guys. You could get away with a quick profile by Batman or Superman while deciding to add them to the team.
But you still have the problem that these are all massive fantasy characters, from a huge fantasy universe, and Warner Bros are just too scared to go all out with this. All the Marvel characters so far fit into an almost real universe. This is intelligent selection on Marvel's part. I don't believe they would of had the same success had Phase One started with Rocket Raccoon and a Howard the Duck reboot. But now they have the success, they can take a risk with "the Avengers in space", so to speak, with Guardians of the Galaxy.
Maybe I am wrong on all this, and maybe Warner just need to get comic book guys, writing comic book movies. Maybe there is a great DC Phase One, with great Man of Steel 2, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and The Flash movies. Maybe in 4 years, a Justice League movie will hit our screens and impact like The Avengers did. But if I am honest I can't even see it getting that far.
