Tom Welling As Superman In Justice League
Ok, this is getting out of hand. The whole rumor mill surrounding the upcoming Justice League movie is spinning right out of control with new rumors, then getting debunked only to be replaced by new rumors continues the dance. The last word on the matter was that Justice League could end up being a full CGI motion captured project (an idea that I thought was terrific). Well, now those rumors have been shot down… Justice League will be live action.
But more than that… now our friends over at IESB are claiming that Smallville’s Tom Welling has been chosen to play Superman. This is what they have to say:
We’ve gotten a few emails about the Supermanhomepage debunking. As we updated in the Tom Welling article, Supermanhomepage.com is saying Al Gough says no, Welling is not involved in the JLA movie. But, I am telling you, we have triple checked this out and all indications are that Tom Welling in fact is a go on the WB side. I rechecked with my sources and they are all still saying yes, yes Tom Welling, yes Justice League, yes production starts early next year and yes Smallville will have to work around it.
Ug… if this is true… and I do emphasize the word “IF”, i don’t like it at all. Smallville is actually one of my favorite shows on TV right now, so please don’t confuse me with a Smallville hater… but are they making JUSTICE LEAGUE… or are they making “Smallville: The Movie”?
You can’t possibly have Welling in Justice League as Superman and pretend like it has nothing to do with Smallville. So if they get Welling as the Man of Steel, do they bring in all the Smallville actors who play the various heroes as the rest of the cast too? This would be a monumentally bad idea, and I hope this one turns out to indeed be just rumor.
1. Sir Jig-A-Lot replies at 27th August 2007, 1:44 pm :
“You can’t possibly have Welling in Justice League as Superman and pretend like it has nothing to do with Smallville”
agreed. looks like it’s back to the wackness for JLA.
2. Nick Blaze replies at 27th August 2007, 1:51 pm :
John, JLA being a CGI film was just a rumor that has been shot down.
From the IESB.net post.
Yes there will be motion capture used in the film but it will not be an all out “motion capture
production.”
If you don’t believe me here’s the link.
http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_ezine&task=read&page=1&category=1&article=3138
3. John Campea replies at 27th August 2007, 2:00 pm :
Hey Nick,
Dude… you REALLY have to start reading my whole post before commenting. It says right in the post:
“The last word on the matter was that Justice League could end up being a full CGI motion captured project (an idea that I thought was terrific). Well, now those rumors have been shot down… Justice League will be live action.”
So basically, you just repeated what I said already, but made it sounds like you’re telling me something new.
4. Nick Blaze replies at 27th August 2007, 2:05 pm :
Well sorry about that, John. But this Tom Welling casting is also just a rumor and it’s not gonna happen cause he still is contracted to be on another season of Smallville.
5. Sir Jig-A-Lot replies at 27th August 2007, 2:11 pm :
hence why the post stated they’d work around Smallville. sheesh!
6. CW replies at 27th August 2007, 2:21 pm :
“So if they get Welling as the Man of Steel, do they bring in all the Smallville actors who play the various heroes as the rest of the cast too?”
My memory may be a bit fuzzy but I fairly certain there has only been 4 (Flash, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter) or 5 (not sure if Cyborg is in fact a Justice League member) guest “heroes” on Smallville. I’m not saying it’s a good idea that they sign all the Smallville guest actors for the JLA movie (because it would look a bit like Smallville: The Movie) but if they did, it wouldn’t really be a huge deal. Because if it’s going to be a JLA movie, it’s more than likely there will be more heroes than Supes and 4 other dudes.
I suppose we’ll just have to wait until we get some official castings before determining if this movie will suck on a massive level.
7. Kristina replies at 27th August 2007, 5:34 pm :
Wow, the rumor mill has me confuzzed. First, they said a CGI movie, then a CGI motion capture, and now it’s neither? Okay. Personally, I’m glad it’s not mo-cap, because that Beowulf movie is looking beyond creepy. BEYOND CREEPY!
Tom Welling as Supes is a bad idea. All these Supes flying around…..you’d be shocked at how easily some people would get confused, especially if they’ve never seen Smallville before.
8. DirkAngerReloaded23 replies at 27th August 2007, 5:42 pm :
This is just a horrifically bad idea; no, not the casting of Tom Welling as Superman, cause he’s kinda grown on me on Smallville, even though the storylines on the show have gone down the crapper within the last year or so. What I’m talking about is the suggestion that they take the “Justice League” characters from Smallville and base the live action movie around them.
If you look at each of those characters as individuals on the show then you’d see what I mean. Green Arrow is really the only one of the bunch who has any personality and is sorta/kinda believable behind the actor’s performance. Cyborg was a cardboard cutout to say the least. Flash was just downright annoying anytime he was on the screen. Aquaman??? Um, next…… Finally there’s Martian Manhunter. Easily the most intriguing of the bunch but he’s had minimal screen time so far so who really knows in the long run?
I thought that the CGI idea was brilliant when I first heard it, but now that that has been shot down I say, at the very least, try this instead: go ahead and cast Welling, recast the Smallville Justice League, with the possible exceptions of Manhunter or Arrow, pick a younger Batman and leave Christian Bale out of it, and just go with a Justice League Beginnings theme. It won’t hurt either the Superman or Batman franchises and might actually even amount to something interesting down the road. But that’s just my two cents.
9. Darren j Seeley replies at 27th August 2007, 8:12 pm :
Perhaps this is just an (old) rumor as well. Now, Green Arrow is an odd character to include in the mix (isn’t the character in another pic in development?) but y’know something?
The only way this thing can work is the CGI like the upcoming beowulf. If Warner’s don’t know that, it is all but simple:
They can’t make up thier minds, it is all choas, and it will never be made. Then we all have to hear all the brain-dead fanboys b*i*t*c*h* for the next number of years, I’ll hear about “How GREAT the script was”, “How OUTSTANDING this would have been”
And all it was was a bad idea. Not that it matters.
Screw it all; just make the Wonder f’n Twins film. If WB wants to get away with crap, at least go all the way up the ass.
10. Darren j Seeley replies at 27th August 2007, 8:16 pm :
Follow up:
Okay, you are telling me that the IESB knows more than the people who run the show?
Hokey dokey.
You don’t see it IESB, but trust me- my middle finger is raised at you.
Name your sources or shut the hell up.
11. Anonymous replies at 27th August 2007, 8:25 pm :
No one has said anything about taking the rest of the cast of Smallville and putting them in the JL movie except John Campea.
So everyone just calm down because that ain’t gonna happen.
If (and that’s a big IF) Tom gets the gig, he will be the only carry-over from Smallville.
Mark my words.
Personally,
I think Welling would be a good choice.
I like him as Clark on the show and I think I would like him as Supes.
Hell, I’m quite sure he would make an excellent Superman.
If people want to make a connection to Smallville… so be it.
It would make me care MORE about this incarnation of Superman because I have a history with him. I watched him grow up.
By the way, as far as Welling’s contract goes… just because someone is contracted for 8 seasons doesnt mean there will be 8 seasons. Michael Rosenbaum says this will be his last season and I highly doubt they will carry on without Lex Luthor. But who knows… either way, this is going to be a huge movie for Warner Bros and if they want Welling for the role then Smallville will work around it.
On a side note,
I’m incredibly happy that Bale and Routh arent going to be in this movie. Especially Bale. I dont in any way think the Nolan/Bale created Batman would work in a JL movie. The JL just doent fit in that universe. Honestly, I dont think it would fit in Singer’s Superman universe either.
Plus, the word on the street is that the treatment that Singer and Co just turned in to Warners for The Man Of Steel rocks.
So I say again, Thank GOD Bale and Routh arent going to be in this flick and I’m going to buck the popular vote and say that I would like to see Welling as Supes. Bring it on.
12. Jay replies at 27th August 2007, 8:25 pm :
No one has said anything about taking the rest of the cast of Smallville and putting them in the JL movie except John Campea.
So everyone just calm down because that ain’t gonna happen.
If (and that’s a big IF) Tom gets the gig, he will be the only carry-over from Smallville.
Mark my words.
Personally,
I think Welling would be a good choice.
I like him as Clark on the show and I think I would like him as Supes.
Hell, I’m quite sure he would make an excellent Superman.
If people want to make a connection to Smallville… so be it.
It would make me care MORE about this incarnation of Superman because I have a history with him. I watched him grow up.
By the way, as far as Welling’s contract goes… just because someone is contracted for 8 seasons doesnt mean there will be 8 seasons. Michael Rosenbaum says this will be his last season and I highly doubt they will carry on without Lex Luthor. But who knows… either way, this is going to be a huge movie for Warner Bros and if they want Welling for the role then Smallville will work around it.
On a side note,
I’m incredibly happy that Bale and Routh arent going to be in this movie. Especially Bale. I dont in any way think the Nolan/Bale created Batman would work in a JL movie. The JL just doent fit in that universe. Honestly, I dont think it would fit in Singer’s Superman universe either.
Plus, the word on the street is that the treatment that Singer and Co just turned in to Warners for The Man Of Steel rocks.
So I say again, Thank GOD Bale and Routh arent going to be in this flick and I’m going to buck the popular vote and say that I would like to see Welling as Supes. Bring it on.
13. Jay replies at 27th August 2007, 8:34 pm :
Darren,
It’s common practice in the journalism biz to protect your sources.
IESB has had plenty of scoops as far as casting goes and are you honestly trying to say that studios dont lie?
Out of curiosity,
Why do you have such a hate-on for IESB?
You flipped your lid about their Iron Man video too.
John,
Sorry about the double post.
Feel free to delete one of them.
14. Darren j Seeley replies at 27th August 2007, 8:55 pm :
Jay, I seriously doubt they had any sources that confirmed Welling is going to be in JLA. It’s more likely he is ‘considered’…but I stand by what I said. Why?
Think of it this way: the first person they call is one of the heads of ‘Smallville’- who you either think should know (or, if this is true, would be involved in JLA, since it is a Smallville spinoff) and he says no.
They call ‘unnamed sources’ and believe them.
In effect, they just called Al Gough a liar.
Yes, I do have a problem with that.
My middle finger is still raised at IESB. Sorry.
15. Darren j Seeley replies at 27th August 2007, 8:56 pm :
Oh, wait, my bad.
They DIDN’T call Gough.
16. Darren j Seeley replies at 27th August 2007, 9:05 pm :
“You flipped your lid about their Iron Man video too.”
It was how they went about doing it, or to the point, how they claimed to. In retrospect, I think they made some of it up to sound more exciting. (boasts of lying to security, going where it said to be off limits etc.) Also, Jay…I only questioned IESB twice in my lifetime, this being the second. I am not a hater.
Then again, see the M Night comment: I sorta stick it to Cinematical too.
Maybe I’m having a rotten Monday.
Don’t worry; I’ll get over it.
:)
17. Jeff Razey replies at 27th August 2007, 11:15 pm :
Tom could totally pull off Superman, if the movie started right after the end of the ‘Smallville’ series. Even Christopher Reeves gave his blessing when he guest-stared on the series.
18. Anonymous replies at 28th August 2007, 4:27 pm :
It’s all gravy, brother…
I was just wonderin’
…but let’s be honest,
People in the movie business lie all the time.
Studios pick a time and place to reveal casting decisions, and maybe Gough wasnt allowed to confirm it yet.
Just look at all the denials that Shia gave concerning his involvment in the Indiana Jones movie.
That’s just one example, but like I said… People in the movie business lie ALL THE TIME. (caps are for effect, I’m not yelling)