While other DC movies have loosely based their arcs on comic books, the inspiration is still there.  Batman Begins draws on Batman: Year One, The Dark Knight pulls from The Long Halloween, and The Dark Knight Rises was influenced by No Man’s Land.  Earlier this month, we reported the rumor that the villain of the Justice League movie would be Darkseid, a foe certainly worthy of a superhero team-up.  Today, we may have learned where screenwriter Will Beale (Gangster Squad) is looking for his screenplay.

Hit the jump for more.  Justice League is due out in 2015.

What can we confirm about Warner Bros.’ Justice League so far? We know Zack Snyder (director of Man of Steel) has a lot to say about how his film fits into the Justice League universe, and that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises) is reportedly not set to play Batman in the picture. Other than that, we know Will Beall (Gangster Squad) is writing the screenplay which will feature Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash and other heroes. But who will these heroes unite against, exactly? Will it be an army of faceless evildoers, much like the Chitauri in The Avengers? Not likely, since the Marvel sequel will be opening the same year as the DC picture and The Avengers 2 already has a Mad Titan in Thanos. So who in the DC universe could possibly be more powerful? Hit the jump to find out.

A couple days ago, we heard the rumor that Joseph Gordon-Levitt might play Batman in Warner Bros.’ upcoming Justice League movie, and possibly see the actor don the cape and cowl even earlier.  It’s a rumor that’s bound to spring up considering the amount of fan-service The Dark Knight Rises provided.  However, Hollywood.com has spoken to Gordon-Levitt’s reps who “refuted the rumor entirely.”

Of course, this is what representatives do.  They’re not in it to support the truth; they’re in it to support their client’s best interests.  Right now, it looks like Warner Bros. is still trying to figure out what they want their Justice League movie to even look like.  Zack Snyder recently said that Man of Steel would be “on course” for JL, which implied that the studio has the option to tie the Superman reboot to the big superhero team-up movie.  It’s possible that the involvement of Gordon-Levitt is another option on the table.  Hit the jump for more. [TDKR spoilers ahead]

Justice League is coming in 2015, which is sooner than you think.  Just last year, Zack Snyder said his Superman movie Man of Steel has nothing to do with Justice League, and Batman curator Christopher Nolan has no plans to get involved.  With DC’s two biggest superheroes on their own separate tracks, it was unclear just how and when Warner Bros. would start building up to Justice League over the next three years.  The answer may have come today in the form of the obvious: they already started.  Snyder now recognizes that the Superman you see in Man of Steel is almost certainly the same alien you will see in Justice League.  A new report suggests that you have already seen the new Batman, and he is Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  Details after the jump.

Zack Snyder comments have changed yet again on how his new Superman film, Man of Steel, would relate to Warner Bros.’ planned Justice League movie.  In March, he said Justice League‘s Superman and Batman would be different than the ones from Man of Steel and The Dark Knight Trilogy.  Then at Comic-Con, Snyder played coy and said they were just trying to get Superman’s house in order, and then see where it went from there.  Since then, Warner Bros. has set a summer 2015 release date for Justice League, and Man of Steel continues to fly towards its summer 2013 release.  In a recent interview, Snyder’s latest comments make Man of Steel sound closer to Justice League than ever before.

Hit the jump for more.  Man of Steel opens in 3D on June 14, 2013.

At the recent Los Angeles press day for Skyfall, I was able to speak with director Sam Mendes.  During our extended conversation we talked about fan reaction to Skyfall, whether it was tough to land cinematographer Roger Deakins, deleted scenes, what will be on the eventual Blu-ray, whether he will direct another James Bond film, Javier Bardem’s character’s sexuality, crafting his own version of a Bond story rather than being beholden to the Bond mythos, and a lot more.  In addition, we talked about his Preacher adaptation, whether he would direct a comic book movie like Justice League (and his thoughts on the comic book movie genre), his vampire hunter TV series featuring Van Helsing with John Logan (which he will produce and possibly direct the pilot), and more.

I absolutely loved Skyfall.  Sam Mendes has crafted one of the best James Bond movies ever made.  While the Bond franchise is now 50 years old, Mendes has shown the best might be yet to come.  I really can’t recommend this film enough.  For all our Skyfall coverage including our review, clips, posters, my set visit and more, click here.  Skyfall also stars Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Helen McCrory, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe and Ben Whishaw.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

The ultimate superhero showdown looks to be in the works, as Warner Bros. is now hoping to release their DC Justice League film in 2015, the same year Marvel has slated Joss Whedon’s The Avengers 2.  Warner Bros.’ superhero team-up is still without a director, after rumors that they approached Ben Affleck to take the helm were debunked by the actor himself.  But with The Avengers making over a billion dollars, they’re ready to get their own superhero mash-up on the big screen as quickly as possible.  Hit the jump for more details.

I have a confession to make: I’ve dropped too much cash on sweet, sweet movie poster prints and frames the last month or so. In addition to my Mondo/Jock The Dark Knight Rises print (which was secured for me by my friend and fellow Collider teammate, Bill Graham), I’ve also picked up Mondo/Phantom City Creative’s The Cabin in the Woods and this little Drive gem by artist Louis Fernando Cruz all in a matter of a few weeks. While I couldn’t be any happier with my purchases (well, I could have stood to pay a little less for The Cabin in the Woods), the truth remains that I’m quickly running out of wall space and disposable income. With all of this in mind, I do have to give a big “thank you” to my wife for tolerating my plans to adorn our house with movie posters. I’ve promised her that my buying flurry will now subside. Unless, of course, someone out there has a Gallery 1988/Rhys Cooper Robocop print they want to part with on the cheap, in which case, I think I have just enough wall space and unaccounted for monies to make one last purchase.

Poster hunting aside, in this week’s edition of the Top 5, I’ve compiled for your reading pleasure our Lawless interviews with Shia LaBeouf, screenwriter/composer Nick Cave, and more, a week filled with rumors surrounding Warner Bros.’ Justice League pic, For a Good Time, Call… video interviews with Ari Graynor, Lauren Miller, and more, a well deserved red-band trailer for The To Do List, and some encouraging, some not so encouraging, news from the set of director Jose Padilha‘s Robocop reboot. A brief recap and link to each awaits after the jump.

With the conclusion of Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy, the future of DC Comics movies is entirely up in the air right now.  DC and Warner Bros’ next step in the gameplan is Zack Snyder‘s Superman reboot Man of Steel, which must fight through the general disappointment created by the last reboot, Superman Returns.  That’s nothing compared to Green Lantern, which rode a 26% Rotten Tomatoes score to squeak past $200 million worldwide.  But hey, at least they have movies: Wonder Woman and The Flash are left out in the cold, and Aquaman may only be a viable superhero in the Hollywood fantasy of Entourage.

DC’s rival Marvel spent years carefully assembling their stable of heroes, culminating in the smash success of The Avengers.  It seems DC is going to cut through the Gordian knot and skip straight to Justice League after Man of Steel, and use that to introduce the new era of DC movies.  More after the jump.

Warner Bros. has been developing a Justice League film for some time now, but the colossal success of Marvel’s The Avengers has put some rather heavy pressure on the studio to get moving on the DC Comics all-star pic that brings together Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and The Flash.  Early this month, the project took a step in the right direction when word surfaced that WB was courting Ben Affleck to take the helm.  The move wasn’t incredibly surprising given that the studio has been very high on Affleck as a director since his excellent one-two punch of Gone Baby Gone and The Town, soon to be followed by the great-looking Argo.

That said, it was doubtful that Affleck would ultimately take the gig given his preference for more dramatic material and the fact that he’s committed to directing an ambitious adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand.  Affleck has now spoken up about his involvement with the project, confirming that he won’t be helming the superhero pic.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say and to find out who could possibly bring the film to fruition.

You read the headline right: Warner Bros. is reportedly eying Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone) to helm Justice League, DC and WB’s answer to Marvel/Disney’s The Avengers.  Affleck is expected to enter discussion with the studio higher-ups within the next few days.  So far, he’s the only candidate who has received the script from Gangster Squad scribe, Will Beall.  Affleck has also set a recent  precedent of directing films he also stars in, which may mean that we’ll be seeing him on screen in some capacity, whether super-suited or not.  Hit the jump for much more on this developing story, along with a possible role for Affleck in an upcoming film which has long been in development at Warner Bros. [Update: We've added more information regarding Affleck's likely decision]

It’s been six years since Superman flew on the big screen.  However, Superman Returns was met with underwhelming box office and a lukewarm reception.  The series was deemed fit for a reboot, and after an intensive search for a new director, Zack Snyder landed the job.  A surprising choice, Snyder, who previously went to the deconstruction of the superhero genre with Watchmen, has now come to the ultimate superhero.  Where does Snyder hyper-kinetic style meet a classic character like Superman?  There’s so many ways to make Superman take to the skies and save the day, so what does Snyder have in store for the Man of Steel?

Hit the for the recap and the first Man of Steel poster.

One of the many cool things to see outside of Comic-Con this year is DC Entertainment’s Darkness & Light art show.  Featuring original paintings and drawings of your favorite Justice League characters, the show is aimed at raising awareness and funds for the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.  The show is part of a bigger initiative called We Can Be Heroes which you can learn about here.

If you’re in the San Diego area, I suggest stopping by to see the art for yourself.  It’s running until July 15th at the Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts Gallery.  However, if you’re not in the area, or you’d like to see what’s on display right now, I took pictures of almost everything there.  Hit the jump to check it out.

Assuming a Justice League movie ever happens, it won’t involve Christopher Nolan.  Last month we reported that Gangster Squad scribe Will Beall was set to work on the mega-superhero film, which (traditionally) features Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and the Flash.  Speaking at the press junket for The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan said

“I’ve got no plans to do anything more, and certainly, no involvement with any Justice League project.”

Hit the jump for Nolan once again reiterating his commitment to leaving the Batman franchise, and how these latest comments refute a previous statement regarding his involvement in the series’ reboot.

Warner Bros. injects some much-needed life into their Justice League feature by tapping scribe, Will Beall (Gangster Squad).  Clearly, after Disney and Marvel’s The Avengers put a superheroic dent into 2012′s box office, the studio behind the DC version would like to do the same.  Beall has yet to turn in his draft, but the studio has shown strong faith in the screenwriter, having attached him to their reboot of Lethal Weapon and their remake of Logan’s Run.  The latter will reunite Gangster Squad’s Ryan Gosling with his Drive director, Nicolas Winding Refn.  Hit the jump for more on this exciting news for Justice League and to find out who is writing the Wonder Woman screenplay.