While all the focus over at Warner Bros. in their superhero department is on publicly assembling their DC Cinematic Universe, under the radar JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK continues to progress very stealthly. Remember… at one point, this was a project that Guillermo Del Toro was on-board with. But he departed and the film quietly went underground, with the studio looking at whether or not they could still make it, given how high they were on his script. Combine that with how much they seem to love how SUICIDE SQUAD is coming together, and JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK has been given new life over at Warners.
Scott Rudin was brought on to produce, and their sights are sight on trying, under the best case scenario, to get the film in front of cameras before 2016 is out. With that aggressive fast track in place, that means starting to explore options for their character roles, even as they still try to find a filmmaker capable of leading this property across the finish line.
The Del Toro version was filled out by the characters of John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Deadman, Zatanna, and Etrigan The Demon, and there's no reason to believe WB is looking to create some extra work for themselves in deviating from that line-up. So now we get back into looking at talent to fill out those roles with Constantine being the top priority.
According to our sources, Daniel Craig was someone that had been approached to play the part, but apparently he turned down the opportunity, allowing Warner Bros. to work their way down the list and explore other possibilities. Latino-Review reports that Colin Farrell is their top choice right now, which may speak highly of what they're getting out of him on FANTASTIC BEASTS which he's currently shooting for them at the moment. Ewan McGregor is another name that has entered into the conversation as well, but with the studio leaning toward someone a bit more A-list in status, Farrell's name would carry with it a bit more value. That could mean McGregor might slide into the role of Jason Blood, the human side of Etrigan, but we'll have to see how the initial Constantine shakes out first.
As for the rest of the line-up, Monica Bellucci appears to be the top target to play Madame Xanadu, and one actor who has remained in consideration for Swamp Thing from Del Toro's vision to now is Ron Perlman and that shows no signs of changing at the moment.
Does Colin Farrell work for you as John Constantine? Let's hear your arguments for/against.