I looked at the board before me, which had the cast of The Usual Suspects pinned to it. Nearby were storyboards, script revisions, and location references.
I planned to begin shooting the movie next year, so to do that, I needed to lock down the casting by September.
"Of the five suspects," said Serena Walsh, the casting director for the movie, "we still need to decide on one more. And Daniel, you're not happy with the choices we have so far."
"I don't know about Michael Peña," I said.
Julie, my former PA and now a producer on the film, spoke up. "He fits the role. Nervous, fast talker. Peña can do the quirky character."
I hummed, looking at the board again.
So far, all major casting choices had been made:
Verbal Kint — Paul Dano
Dean Keaton — Robert Downey Jr.
Michael McManus — Tom Hardy
Todd Hockney — LaKeith Stanfield
Agent Dave Kujan — Alfred Molina
Kobayashi — Mads Mikkelsen
Edie Finneran — Scarlett Johansson
Mitchell, who had been on his phone, looked up and spoke. "I just got confirmation from Alexander that Robert Downey Jr. has accepted the terms of the contract."
I exhaled. "Well, it's about time. The guy was very adamant about making some changes to the script."
Paul, the assistant director, asked, "Did you?"
"No, no," I said. "I was able to convince him not to."
I turned to the group. "We need to begin location scouting next month. And since Downey is available in September, we can do a screen test using the lineup scene with the entire cast then."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
I looked at Julie. "The March to May timetable for principal photography, any issues?"
She checked her notes. "Robert's schedule is open. He'll finish Infinity War by January and won't begin Endgame until September."
"Okay. So that's it, then." I stood up. "Let's wrap this up for today."
I grabbed my jacket. "I'm off to San Diego."
=========
John was in the middle of a rant.
We were in the VIP lounge at Comic-Con while I waited for the Suicide Squad panel to start. I was supposed to reveal the characters appearing in the movie and then bring out some of the cast, including Margot, for the half hour panel. After that, the entire DC showcase would end with me presenting the Justice League trailer.
At the moment, the Man of Tomorrow panel was underway, with Patton Oswalt moderating.
John was saying, "...It did not feel like a Spider-Man movie. Spider-Man felt like Iron Man Jr. He was not Spider-Man. That was NOT Spider-Man. Spider-Man should have some..."
I cut in. "What? Suffering? You know, it's people like you who gave us storylines like One More Day."
Matt, who was sitting next to us, gasped and then started laughing.
"I thought the movie was fine," I said. "Peter proved he didn't need Tony's fancy tech in the end. How did you not get that?"
John kept arguing. "But the whole movie he was relying on..."
"He literally gave it all up!" I shot back.
Matt finally interrupted us, holding up his phone. "Oh my God, Daniel, you have to see this."
"What?" I said, slightly annoyed since I was about to win the argument.
Matt grinned. "The trailer for the new South Park season just dropped. And guess who's in it?"
"Oh, fuck," I said.
John's eyes lit up. "Gimme, gimme!"
I sighed. "All right, let's see." I braced myself.
The trailer played, and then the three second clip I was in appeared. It showed me arriving in the Batmobile, getting out, and taking Cartman, who was dressed as Superman, away while saying, "Don't worry, kid. I'll save you." Then the trailer continued.
John and Matt burst into laughter.
John wiped his eyes. "I heard they have an entire episode based on you."
I grimaced. "Kind of looking forward to it."
John shook his head. "I wouldn't."
"Are they going to make me some weird kidnapper or something?" It looked like they took some inspiration from the Batmobile incident from last year.
Matt and John laughed again.
The DC event continued. The Man of Tomorrow panel ended, and the Wonder Woman 2 panel began. Alexandra Daddario, Eva Green, Sofia Boutella, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Bryce Dallas Howard were in attendance. After twenty five minutes, that was over as well.
I stood up and walked backstage, waiting for my cue.
As I headed toward the wings, I passed Margot, who had just arrived with the other cast members.
John Cena was, of course, in full Peacemaker costume. He had requested it specifically, and I did not mind at all. Viola Davis looked regal and composed. Idris Elba was there as well. He played Bloodsport.
I leaned toward Margot. "You ready?"
She grinned. "Always."
I looked around. "Where is..."
Then I spotted him just as my name was called.
Patton Oswalt's voice echoed through the speakers.
"And now, please welcome the man behind it all... Daniel Adler!"
I walked out to thunderous applause.
The crowd roared.
"DANIEL!"
"WE LOVE YOU!"
"DC! DC! DC!"
I waved with a smile and then shook Patton's hand.
"Thank you! Thank you!" I said into the microphone, waiting for the applause to settle.
"It's good to be back," I added.
Another wave of cheers erupted.
"Next year, by this time, Wonder Woman 2 will be released," I said.
More cheers.
"And after that comes Suicide Squad."
Even louder cheers.
"I know there has been a lot of speculation about which characters are going to be in the movie," I continued.
The screen behind me changed, and a list of characters began appearing, each accompanied by their names and comic book style artwork:
Bloodsport
Harley Quinn
Peacemaker
Vigilante
Captain Boomerang
Tarantula
Katana
Rick Flag
Killer Croc
Weasel
Blackguard
The screen began filling with names. And filling. And filling.
Snakebite
Windfall
The crowd's laughter grew as the list continued.
Shrike
Billy Numerous
Mad Dog
Slipknot
"Yes," I said. "That's a lot of characters. Now, the Suicide Squad is called the Suicide Squad for a reason."
Even louder laughter.
Red X
Snowflame
Stone Boy
Dr. Light
Rainbow Raider
"SNOWFLAME, FUCK YEAH!" someone yelled as uproarious laughter erupted throughout the hall.
"And yes, the cocaine guy is here too," I said.
More laughter followed.
I continued, "And also the... um... you know what, never mind."
The audience laughed again, realizing I was referring to Dr. Light, whose appearance in the comic Identity Crisis had somewhat tarnished the character.
"Now that that's out of the way," I said, "we do have some of the cast here today."
I paused for effect.
"First, a movie is only as good as its antagonist. And we have that person here today."
The crowd went silent, leaning forward.
I smiled.
"The one and only... Heath Ledger."
The entire hall erupted.
"OH MY GOD!"
The cheers were deafening.
Heath walked out from backstage, waving, clearly taken aback by the support. He looked genuinely moved.
I hugged him as he reached center stage.
The applause did not stop for a solid thirty seconds.
I began to call out the rest of the cast.
"Margot Robbie!"
Massive cheers erupted as Margot walked out.
"Viola Davis!"
More applause followed as Viola strode out confidently.
"John Cena!"
The crowd absolutely lost it when John came in wearing the full Peacemaker outfit, helmet and all.
"Idris Elba!"
Idris walked out to huge cheers, waving to the crowd.
After I called in the four of them, the panel began. I sat first, then Heath, followed by Margot, Viola, Idris, and finally John.
Patton Oswalt leaned forward with a grin. "Before we begin, let's address the elephant in the room. John, did you just come in from the set?"
Laughter rippled through the audience.
I quickly quipped, "Oh, that's where the costume went."
More laughter.
John shrugged. "It's Comic-Con. If anything, it's you guys who aren't dressed for the occasion."
The audience loved it.
It was a regular Comic-Con panel, and Patton did well moderating.
Heath was asked how his Joker would evolve as a character from the last time we'd seen him in The Dark Knight and at the end of Batman Pt. 3.
Heath answered, "In The Dark Knight, the Joker is an agent of chaos. He doesn't have a plan in the traditional sense. He's reactive, opportunistic. He sees the order that Gotham clings to and wants to tear it down, prove that everyone's corruptible when pushed hard enough. He's testing people. Testing Batman most of all."
He paused, collecting his thoughts.
"The Joker believes that deep down, everyone is like him. That civilization is just a thin layer over something darker. And when he fails to corrupt Batman, when Batman doesn't break, it fascinates him. 'Unstoppable force meets immovable object,' as he says. He's never encountered someone like that before."
Heath smiled slightly. "So after Arkham, the Joker will continue his mission of chaos, but he's more fixated on Batman now. He wants to understand him. Break him, maybe. Or just... play with him. It's almost affectionate in a twisted way."
"And you have a girlfriend now too," I added.
"That too," Heath said.
The questions moved to Viola, then Idris, and then to John, who absolutely sold the Peacemaker character right there during the panel. The crowd was eating it up. The man deserved a raise for that performance alone.
After about twenty minutes, as the panel was wrapping up, Patton turned to me.
"So, Daniel, do you have any clips or a teaser from Suicide Squad to show us?"
I leaned forward with a grin. "I do have something."
Big cheers erupted.
"So, you know, we're in the middle of shooting the movie. And two weeks ago, I was there when one scene was shot. I thought it was funny. It doesn't really give away anything about the movie. Hey, it's better than nothing."
The crowd laughed and cheered.
The room darkened, and the scene played on the massive screen.
Rick Flag, played by Joel Kinnaman, stood in a dimly lit room. It was edited that way since the CGI wasn't finished yet for Captain Boomerang, played by Jai Courtney, along with Harley Quinn and Bloodsport.
There was a huge reaction to seeing Harley, Margot in full costume and makeup. The character photos hadn't been released yet, so this was the first time the audience was seeing her.
"OH MY GOD!"
"HARLEY!"
In the scene, Captain Boomerang and Rick Flag were having a standoff.
Boomerang smirked. "Quiet. Right."
Without warning, he hurled a boomerang across the room.
It whizzed past Bloodsport's head, missing by inches.
Bloodsport didn't even flinch. "Really?"
Rick Flag immediately slammed Boomerang against the wall, his arm across his chest.
"You missed," Rick said, his voice low and dangerous.
Boomerang smirked up at him. "Did I?"
There was a beat.
Then, from across the warehouse, clang, the boomerang ricocheted off a metal beam, struck a support column, bounced again, and finally clattered to the floor in the complete opposite direction from where anyone was standing.
Everyone stared.
Boomerang muttered under his breath, "Fuck, I'm drunk."
Laughter erupted throughout the hall.
The panel ended after that, leaving me alone on stage.
"I guess it's time to show that trailer and wrap this all up," I said to loud cheers.
"Since the DCU began five years ago, I did not expect the level of success we have now," I continued. "I mean, we hoped for something like this. We worked for it. But to see it actually happen, to see you all respond the way you have, it's been incredible. Thank you for your support. We wouldn't be here without you."
Big applause.
"Five years of movies now culminate this December. So here it is. Justice League."
The room darkened as huge cheers erupted.
The trailer began with two astronauts on Mars, walking across the red surface. They stumbled upon something.
The trailer cut to voiceovers from news anchors, government officials, and civilians, all saying that a new age of heroes had begun.
Separate scenes showed Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, and Green Lantern in action, saving people and doing heroic things.
The tone shifted to something reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Earth was being attacked from the inside. Government officials were compromised. White Martians were infiltrating society.
Scenes of invasion. Chaos in the streets.
Batman and Superman together.
Wonder Woman fighting off a White Martian tripod, shield raised, sword flashing.
Flash and Green Lantern fighting side by side, trading quips as they battled.
J'onn J'onzz's voiceover overlaid the action.
Malefic was revealed as a terrifying presence, with a brief scene showing him trading punches with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Superman.
Smash cuts showed all seven Justice League members fighting together.
This got huge reactions from the crowd.
The trailer ended with a funny scene from the movie where Flash said, "We're gonna need a name."
All the heroes except Martian Manhunter were there, and Flash suggested they call themselves the Super Friends.
Superman's expression showed that he loved it. Wonder Woman looked supportive. Aquaman hated it. Green Lantern found it hilarious. Batman simply walked off without a word.
The trailer ended.
Laughter rippled through the audience, followed by thunderous applause.
I grinned. "Well, there's that."
Applause erupted again, louder than before.
"With Justice League coming out," I continued, "we end the first chapter of the DCU. The foundations have been laid. And then comes the next chapter, where the Age of Heroes truly takes off."
Applause and cheers filled the hall.
"YEAH!"
"LET'S GO!"
I paused, letting the energy build.
"I said the trailer would be the last thing I would show," I said with a grin. "I lied."
The crowd went wild.
"In May 2019, we will have Batman and Superman team up for the first time on the big screen," I said. "I've seen many theories about what World's Finest is going to be about. So here's a hint."
The room darkened.
On the large screen behind me, a poster for World's Finest appeared.
It showed Mongul, a massive, towering alien warlord, fighting both Batman and Superman.
The audience exploded.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"MONGUL?!"
"Oh my God!"
"Yessss!"
The cheers were deafening. People were on their feet. Some were literally screaming.
I waited for it to settle slightly, grinning.
"We are really upping the stakes in the next chapter," I said. "Oh yeah, we are."
"That's what Batman with no prep time looks like!"
More laughter and cheering, louder than before.
"More information will be revealed about the second chapter of the DCU later this year," I said. "Thank you, and have a good day!"
I walked off stage, waving.
The cheers only grew louder behind me, echoing throughout the entire hall.
.
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You can read up the justice league chapters
p.a.t.r.eon.com/Illusiveone (check the chapter summary i have it there as well)