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The philosophy is that the sum would be greater than the parts if established characters from the Justice League were presented in a group movie. The rumors of such a film have existed for the body of a decade now. There was even a cast reported for so long that it started to possess the ring of truth. Once The Avengers became the #3 movie of all-time, however, the kind people at Warner Bros. grew more serious about the idea of a Justice League movie. After all, their characters are better known so they should have a competitive advantage in the field, at least theoretically.

I doubt that anyone outside the offices of Warner Bros. has such lofty expectations for a Justice League movie. That does not change the fact that if the film is even half as popular as The Avengers, we are still describing a potential billion dollar global performer. Care must be taken to protect the product during its nascent stage. And that is why Warner Bros. did something they have never done with the character of Batman before. They swung for the fences.

Consider that George Clooney is unquestionably the most famous actor to play Bruce Wayne. At the time of his portrayal, his two major cinematic roles were in From Dusk Till Dawn and One Fine Day. Those films earned a grand total of $72 million at the box office. Yes, Clooney had been the face of the most popular show on television, ER, but he was not a box office draw. He would become one in later years, of course. That career ascension did not occur until after Batman & Robin bombed. There was a three year gap where he selected smaller projects such as Out of Sight before he starred in The Perfect Storm and then cemented his career with Ocean’s Eleven the following year. Clooney is successful and famous; his Batman work was not.

Similarly, the most recent Batman was Christian Bale, and his efforts as The Dark Knight did *ahem* fairly well at the box office. His four previous movies prior to wearing the Cowl grossed less than $50 million combined. Three of them earned less than $4 million and the other, Reign of Fire, earned only $43 million domestically against a $60 million budget. Bale was largely an indie movie actor, with work in such titles as Laurel Canyon and The Machinist prior to his heavily criticized anointing as Batman. At the time, fanboys were livid that a virtual unknown was chosen to portray the legendary superhero. So there is a history of fans hating the Batman actors prior to seeing them onscreen.

Undeniably the most popular actor at the time he became Batman was Michael Keaton, a shocking statement to people who did not live through the 1980s. Keaton had already anchored a couple of huge hits with Beetlejuice and Mr. Mom before he starred in the first non-Adam West Batman movie. Those two titles were the #12 and #16 box office hits of their respective years of release. He at least had solid hits on his resume up until that time yet the general pattern has been maintained for 25 years and counting. The actors chosen to play Batman are selected for their potential rather than current resume.

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