Draft:Justice League Dark (TV series)

The untitled Justice League Dark series is an unproduced American television series created for the streaming service HBO Max, based on the DC Comics team Justice League Dark. It is intended to be set in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), and is produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Development on a Justice League Dark film adaptation began in November 2012 with Guillermo del Toro and Doug Liman each attached as director over the following years. Bad Robot was exclusively developing film and television projects based on Justice League Dark characters by January 2020, and HBO Max ordered a series based on the team in April.

The series was expected to be released on HBO Max. Multiple spin-off series are in development based on individual members of the Justice League Dark team.

Background
Guillermo del Toro was rumored in November 2012 to be working on a film for Warner Bros. Pictures titled Heaven Sent, based on various supernatural characters from DC Comics: Deadman, the Spectre, Swamp Thing, John Constantine, Phantom Stranger, Zatanna, Zatara, Sargon the Sorcerer, and Etrigan the Demon. Del Toro soon confirmed that he was in early discussions with Warner Bros. and DC to make a film based on what he called the "dark universe" characters, but said the Heaven Sent title was not accurate. He explained that he was drawn to that group of characters because they are supernatural monsters rather than superheroes, and he already had a specific storyline that he was wanting to propose to the studio. In February 2013, del Toro did not want to reveal further details about the project until he had pitched his take to Warner Bros., but said that he had found a writer to work on the film with him and added that it had the working title Dark Universe. Commentators noted that the concept of a supernatural team-up film was similar to the comic book Justice League Dark.

At WonderCon in March 2013, del Toro said he had written a 45-page story bible for the project and was waiting for the film's writer to be available to start work on the screenplay. He revealed that John Constantine would be the film's main protagonist, and said it would also feature Deadman, Swamp Thing, Etrigan the Demon, Jason Blood, Zatanna, and the Floronic Man. Del Toro had begun writing the screenplay by May and said the updated roster for the film consisted of Constantine, Swamp Thing, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, and Zatanna, with the potential for some other characters to be added. That July, del Toro said he would honor any shared universe connections that Warner Bros. asked him to make with their DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and expressed his hope that the DCEU would become as cohesive as their rival superhero franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). After development began on Constantine, a television series starring Matt Ryan in the title role, Warner Bros. and DC told del Toro that his planned film could coexist with the series and would not need to adhere to its continuity. He reiterated this at San Diego Comic Con in July 2014 but added that he would consider having Ryan reprise his role in the film as long as the film did not have to change to work in with the series. Del Toro was still working on the screenplay at that time and was confident that he was on the same page as the studio regarding the direction for the film. He completed the screenplay and handed it to Warner Bros. for review at the end of November.

Del Toro had turned in a revised version of the script that he was confident in by April 2015. He expressed hope that he would be able to fit the film into his schedule, but noted that it would be made to fit in DC's wider film slate and if the timing did not work out then someone else may direct it; he was no longer attached as director by June. In October, Scott Rudin joined the film as a producer, alongside del Toro, and began looking for a new director ahead of a planned filming start in 2016. Niija Kuykendall, Nik Mavinkurve, and Jon Berg were overseeing the project for Warner Bros. by that time. The film was expected to be set in the DCEU but initially exist separately from the Justice League characters that also had films in development, and Ryan was not expected to reprise his role as Constantine. Doug Liman signed on to direct Dark Universe in August 2016, with Rudin producing and Michael Gilio writing the script. Liman said he was hired for the film because Warner Bros. thought he would be able to make an unconventional superhero film. When production on The Batman (2022) was delayed in March 2017, Dark Universe was one of the DCEU films that Warner Bros. was considering to fast-track in its place. However, Liman left the film in May to focus on directing Chaos Walking (2021). In July 2017, Warner Bros. confirmed at San Diego Comic Con that a Justice League Dark film was on their upcoming DC slate. Andy Muschietti was in the running to replace Liman as director, but after positive reactions to the trailer for his then-upcoming film It, Muschietti was set to be busy with that film's sequel. The studio was reportedly unhappy with the film's script in August 2017, and hired Gerard Johnstone to rewrite it while they began searching for a new director.

Development
Production company Bad Robot signed a five-year overall deal with WarnerMedia in September 2019 to create feature films, television series, and other content. Bad Robot was exclusively developing new film and television projects based on the Justice League Dark characters by January 2020. It was unknown whether Bad Robot co-CEO and filmmaker J. J. Abrams would be directing any of the projects at that point. One of the first projects announced under Bad Robot's deal with WarnerMedia was an untitled television series based on the Justice League Dark characters that received a straight-to-series order from the streaming service HBO Max in April 2019. Abrams was set as executive producer of the series with his wife and Bad Robot co-CEO Katie McGrath as well as Bad Robot's head of television Ben Stephenson. It was expected to be set in the DCEU, and be an Avengers-style crossover story bringing together different Justice League Dark characters who would also appear in spin-off series. In August 2022, after WarnerMedia merged with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery and the future of planned DC projects became uncertain, the Justice League Dark series and its planned spin-offs were still in active development. However, HBO Max passed on the spin-off series a month later. Warner Bros. Television and Bad Robot were still positive about the projects and were planning to shop them to other networks later that month. The project was no longer moving forward by February 2023.

Casting
Matt Ryan said in May 2019 that he had been interested in reprising his role as Constantine for del Toro's film version, and would still like to be considered for the series version as well. However, in February 2021, Bad Robot and WarnerMedia were reportedly looking for a young actor of color to portray the character for a new Constantine series that was expected to be connected to the Justice League Dark series.

Release
The series was expected to be released on the streaming service HBO Max.

Spin-offs
By June 2021, Abrams and Bad Robot were developing a Justice League Dark "franchise", with multiple spin-off series being created that would connect with each other. This approach was compared to The Avengers, as well as the Marvel Comics-based Netflix series which had individual series crossing over for a team-up miniseries in The Defenders. Justice League Dark spin-off series from Bad Robot include:

Constantine
Abrams and Bad Robot were developing a new series based on John Constantine for HBO Max by February 2021, with novelist Guy Bolton writing the first episode. They were looking to cast a young actor of color in the title role. HBO Max passed on the series in September 2022. Filming was expected to begin in early 2023.

Madame X
Abrams and Bad Robot were developing Madame X, a series based on Madame Xanadu, by June 2021. Angela Robinson was set to write and executive produce the series for HBO Max. It was still in active development by August 2022, but HBO Max passed on the series a month later.