banner

Bruce Timm Returns for Justice League: Gods and Monsters


on September 20, 2014

Gods and Monsters

Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, two key people behind the highly acclaimed and influential DC Animated Universe, are joining forces once again for a new Justice League direct to video movie titled Justice League: Gods and Monsters. This movie will have no ties to the continuity that has been established with other recent direct to video movies based on the New 52, such as Justice League: War, and the upcoming Throne of Atlantis. It is scheduled for a 2015 release.

This is potentially great news for Green Lantern John Stewart fans, because the likelihood of seeing him in this film is quite high. It was Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett who were behind the inclusion of John Stewart in the hit Justice League animated series. They played a huge part in making John Stewart the well-known character he is now. Furthermore, Timm is on record for being a big fan of Hawkgirl. After all these years, could we finally be seeing a Justice League more akin to the hit animated series?

I certainly hope so! The quality of Warner Bros. DC animated features has plummeted since the days of the DC Animated Universe, and rumor has it Bruce Timm stepped away from doing DC Comics based projects because DC only wanted him to adapt what they specifically wanted him to, which would explain the prevalence of Hal Jordan in many of their projects. Indeed, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths was supposed to have John Stewart instead of Hal Jordan, and showcase an event during the interim between Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, but that was changed and Hal Jordan was used. If Bruce Timm is allowed to cut loose like he was during the DC Animated Universe days, then I’m quite confident we’ll get a stellar product.

In related news, Warner Animation and Machinima have joined forces for Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles, a series of short online episodes that will tie into the upcoming movie. These shorts will feature darker versions of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman than what is usually seen. From Sam Register, head of Warner Bros. Animation:

“We couldn’t be happier to be announcing our first new digital series today, and we’re even more excited that it’s a collaboration with such accomplished storytellers as Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett, who have been responsible for some of the most innovative and creative DC Universe projects. We can’t wait for fans to have a chance to see the world they have created when ‘Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles’ debuts on Machinima next year.”

Diane Nelson, DC Entertainment president, had this to say:

“We are committed to delivering DC Entertainment’s extensive line-up of world-class characters and stories to audiences across all platforms and formats. Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles is an exciting opportunity to bring alternate versions of DC Comics’ iconic Justice League characters to Machinima, and we look forward to bringing this new animated shortform series to life with our partners across Warner Bros.”

Cross your fingers, John Stewart fans. I think the emerald crusader might be coming back to animation, at long last!

Follow @deshderringer


  • Hudson Faber

    Gosh, I really hope John is used. Some people think this film will only feature the Trinity but will be titled Justice League–which I think would be silly.
    I really wish WB wasn’t taking their time with the Green Lantern news.

    Thanks for the info, Desh!

    • Desh Derringer

      It’s my understanding there are two projects here. One is “Gods and Monsters,” which is a direct to video movie. I think there will be more Leaguers than just the Trinity in that. The other project is “Gods and Monsters Chronicles,” which will be short episodes released online that tie into the direct to video film. “Chronicles” is the project in which only the Trinity is mentioned, not the film.

      I think we will see John. This whole thing seems tailor made for him, from the premise of not being connected to the New 52 Justice League, to the creators doing it. I don’t think WB is holding him back now that the 2011 film has proved a failure. I think 2015 will be the year John starts to really break out again, in comics and multimedia.

  • Clyde

    Thank you Desh for this update posting. I personally had already known about this breaking news, as I had posted a comment about it in your Sept 15th article. So my thoughts and comments could be found there. So I’m glad others will be enlightened with this blockbuster news. My John Stewart radar is on heightend alert, hoping and praying that he could be seen once more. While this is great news for the fans of John Stewart as well as Justice League and JL Unlimited, it all remains to be seen as we don’t know yet if John Stewart, Shayera Hol & Martian Manhunter are going to be confirmed as a part of the roster. Considering that this series isn’t directly connected with the New 52 universe, I agree that John Stewart may in fact be back. I hope that they back back all the voice actors from before; then this project will have more legitimacy. To hear Phil Lamarr and Maria Canals and Kevin Conroy and Susan Eisenberg once more would be wonderful. While this is our dream come true, this couldn’t be any worse timing for Dc Entertainment and Geoff Johns, because while they’re promoting Hal Jordan so hard and gearing him to be rebooted in the live action screen universe; this latest feature lead by Bruce Timm (perhaps inclusive of John Stewart) is all the push that’s needed for Warner Bros. to finally say, okay we’ve debated enough, let’s announce John Stewart as the Green Lantern at the 2015 San Diego Comic Con! If Justice League: Gods & Monsters receives rave reviews and out performs all of their New 52 projects to date, then I cannot see Dc Entertainment’s justification for casting Hal when John is what sells, and if I were Warner Bros. Studios, I would tell Dc Entertainment to shove it because its their money and reputation on the line while DC could just hide under a rock and continue to do Comics, animated movies and television programming. That’s just my take on it…what’s yours?

    • Desh Derringer

      Thanks for sharing.

      I don’t think Hal Jordan will be the cinematic Green Lantern. It goes against good business sense, and there are too many reasons to use John Stewart. Hal Jordan isn’t even in the Justice League anymore in the comics, and I think he was taken out because of the failure of the 2011 film. It wouldn’t surprise me if Hal Jordan leaves the Justice League in the upcoming Throne of Atlantis movie, because he left in the comics.

      When asked about if we’ll see a Green Lantern appearing in the Justice League in the comics, Geoff Johns said:

      “Eventually, yes, you will. I can’t say when and who, but yes.”
      http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/09/11/dc-comics-geoff-johns-teases-the-darkseid-war

      The cryptic nature of that statement leads me to believe he’s not talking about Jordan. DC is building up John Stewart slowly, but they’re doing a good job of it. I don’t think they want to rush it because they don’t want to harm the character, or make his rise seem not legitimate. Over the past year, he’s taken on a way bigger role in the comics, and they’re actually allowing him to appear in the upcoming Lego Batman 3 game.

      I don’t think it will be very hard for Gods and Monsters to be better than the New 52 based animated features that have been released, because those are absolutely terrible. Bruce Timm and Alan Burnett with the freedom to do what they want will likely easily be superior to any animated DC based movie that’s been released in recent history.

      I know people are apprehensive and skeptical about John Stewart actually rising to prominence again, based on the way DC has abused the character over the last nine or so years, but I’m really optimistic for the future.

  • Will Pray

    awesome news that i can’t wait to see come to be and i hope that john is being geared up to be in the movie cause i can’t wait to go see it

  • Steve Rogers

    When you think about it, John may be the member of the Justice League: Gods and Monsters. I’ve been reading Timm’s comments on his views of John Stewart. He really likes the character and John wasn’t just chosen for the sake of diversity (which Hal fans like to say), but for his personality and designs.

    • Corey A Lee

      A lot of Hal fanboys like to forget that before the Geoff Johns run, Hal Jordan was a boring prick who was a product of a time long past. They always had to replace him because he was stale. He went through the most changes because no one had any idea of what to do with him. Hal’s vanilla flavor gave way for John Stewart to shine.

      • Steve Rogers

        I agree. Hal was never interesting to begin with. They always had to change his character/personality, because he was so flawed.

      • Desh Derringer

        The Hal Jordan character has never comfortably evolved into the modern age of comics and superheroes. Geoff Johns had to clumsily graft a personality onto him, and he made him an annoying dudebro and awesomeguy Mary Sue.

        He has never had a consistent defined personality. Even now, his fans will say Venditti’s Hal Jordan is markedly different from the Johns one. Writers keep going different ways with Jordan because they can get away with it. Because they have different ideas of what he is, or they can get away with molding him to fit the needs of a story they want to tell. They can do this because the character has never been firmly defined, like how John Stewart was from Timm’s JL/JLU.

        Sometimes Hal Jordan’s personalities sharply oppose each other, like the right wing conservative voice of authority from the Green Lantern/Green Arrow days, to the anti-authority firebrand of more recent times.

        You know a character hasn’t been defined well when none of there attributes really stick. We all know how Batman and Superman are. There are things we know they usually would and wouldn’t do. Hal Jordan’s been around for 50 something years and we still don’t know what he would really do or be like. It depends on the interpretation.

  • Steve Rogers

    Have Timm mentioned anything about Cyborg? Would Cyborg even be a member in this alternate universe?

    • Corey A Lee

      2 Black guys on a team of 7?

      That would be breaking new ground that a lot of Mayo nerds will not be ready for. I hate to say that but it IS the truth.

    • Desh Derringer

      You mean in general? I’ve never seen Bruce Timm address the character. It was his decision to put John Stewart on the Justice League for the animated show, so there’s a high chance we’ll see John in this upcoming film. I have a hunch DC might be doing this ‘alternate’ Justice League with Bruce Timm to assuage fans of the popular cartoons who were screwed over by the New 52 stuff, such as Martian Manhunter fans, Wally West fans, and John Stewart fans. Just a guess, though. If this League is ‘alternate’ then I don’t see why it would have the New 52 roster.

  • Brenda Williams

    The continuation of The Justice League saga hasn’t been the same since losing Dwayne McDuffie in 2011, but losing Bruce Timm is more of a tragedy to longtime fans. I am a huge fan of the Justice League with John Stewart as the Green Lantern. I think we fans should get on board to convince WB to bring Bruce Timm back to the table for all future projects. Also, I am still awaiting the continuation of Green Lantern (John Stewart) relationship with Hawkgirl. It would be great to have Phil LeMarr return as the voice actor for John Stewart (Green Lantern) and Maria Canals Barrera as Hawkgirl.

    • Desh Derringer

      Nice hearing from you, Brenda.

      Yes. Dwayne McDuffie’s loss was a real blow to the comic book industry and super hero genre. He was a real champion for PoC characters and they certainly needed that and still do. Additionally, he was a brilliant storyteller. John Stewart, Hawkgirl, and the others are so fortunate to have such a talented person work on them, and we fans are the ones who reaped the most benefits.

      Here’s hoping that the upcoming project is more recalling of the amazing Justice League animated show than any of the other projects WB and DC have released with the Justice League brand since the show’s final episode. Everything they’ve made since that time has been a sorry imitation, in my mind.

DMCA.com Protection Status