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'Justice League': How different will the film be from 'Batman v Superman'?

'Justice' stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Ray Fisher. The movie will be the newest entry in the DC Comics film universe which studio Warner Bros. is creating.

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Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
(From l.) 'Justice League' director Zack Snyder, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Henry Cavill attend Comic-Con.

A new trailer for the upcoming “Justice League” movie showed fans that the film may be very different from the previous movie starring superheroes such as Batman and Wonder Woman. 

The “Justice” trailer was screened at Comic-Con and the footage showed “Game of Thrones” actor Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, and Ezra Miller of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” as the Flash.

The trailer is composed almost entirely of humorous moments. “Barry Allen,” Batman (Ben Affleck) greets the Flash (Mr. Miller). “Bruce Wayne.” 

“You said that like it explains why there’s a total stranger sitting in the dark in my second-favorite chair,” Barry replies. 

Soon after, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) asks Batman if Aquaman has agreed to join them. “More or less,” he tells her.

“He said no?” she asks. 

“He said no,” Batman confirms.

The “Justice League” film features the return of Mr. Affleck and Ms. Gadot as their super characters and will be released in November 2017.

The planned movie follows this year’s “Batman v Superman” film, which brought together Affleck, Gadot, and Henry Cavill as Superman. Those who saw “Batman v Superman” will note a very different mood in the trailer for “Justice,” with the clip, which features the rock song "Icky Thump" by the White Stripes, possibly even reminding comic book movie fans of "Guardians of the Galaxy," another superhero movie with lots of humor and a soundtrack with some rock hits such as "Spirit in the Sky" by Norman Greenbaum and "Cherry Bomb" by The Runaways.

Guardians" became one of Warner Bros.' rival Marvel's biggest hits (grossing $333 million in the US $773 million worldwide).

But critics described “Batman v Superman” as a very grim film. "Heavy and humorless," wrote Jake Coyle of the Associated Press. "...It twists and grinds two of the most classic comic heroes, wringing new, less altruistic emotions out of them until their dashing smiles turn to angry grimaces ... self-serious." Meanwhile, Ty Burr of the Boston Globe found the movie to be "joyless ... dank, noisy chaos."

And so some see the more cheerful, fun mood in the “Justice” preview footage as a response to some fans not liking “Batman v Superman,” with Warner Bros. perhaps deciding to bet on a cheerful take on this story. 

“To all those complaining about the overly dark ‘BVS’ tone: ‘Justice League’ heard you,” Los Angeles Times writer Shannon O’Connor wrote, while Variety staff wrote of the trailer, “Based on the early footage, ‘Justice League’ has a much lighter tone than Snyder’s ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,’ which was criticized for taking itself too seriously.”

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