| Justice League: Warworld | |
|---|---|
 Official release poster | |
| Directed by | Jeff Wamester |
| Written by |
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| Based on | |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Michael Gatt |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United States |
Justice League: Warworld is a 2023 Americanadult animatedsuperhero film based on theDC Comicssuperhero team of the same name. Produced byDC Entertainment andWarner Bros. Animation and distributed byWarner Bros. Home Entertainment, it is the seventh film in theDC Animated Movie Universe's second phase, and the 53rd overall installment in theDC Universe Animated Original Movies line.
The film is written by Jeremy Adams, Ernie Altbacker, and Josie Campbell and directed by Jeff Wamester. It starsJensen Ackles,Darren Criss andStana Katic. In the film, the Justice League unites together to liberate the gladiator world ofWarworld. The film was released on home media and digital on July 25, 2023. A sequel,Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, was released in 2024.
In theWild West town of Last Stand, afemale gunslinger[a] enters a standoff between the townsfolk, led byBat Lash, and bandits led byJonah Hex. Hex explains the town is populated by gold miners, ranch and farm owners who were supposed to pay "protection interest" to Hex and his men, but they took back and barricaded the bank that had their money. He asks for her help to bring order, but she sides with the townsfolk and saves a little girl from Hex's men and Lash from a wagon loaded with dynamite. Hex calls her a "Wonder" and the townsfolk call her an "Angel". When Bat Lash asks for her name, she is disconcerted that she cannot remember. Later that night, while distracting Hex so the townsfolk can retrieve supplies, she learns that Hex's men have hijacked a train to transport explosives and destroy the townsfolk's fort. She derails the train as Lash evacuates the townsfolk, but Hex kills Lash. In a fit of rage, she beats Hex near death before silently leaving the town.
OnSkartaris, theWarlord Travis Morgan takes amercenary sent by his archenemy, the wizardDeimos, as a slave to work in the mines, but the mercenary offers to take Warlord and his army to Deimos's castle in exchange for freedom and gold. While traveling to the castle, the army is attacked by several monsters, and Warlord's best warriors Mariah Romanova is captured andMachiste is killed. The mercenary struggles with unfamiliar knowledge and memories and along the way sees a vision of anold man who recognizes him. In the castle, after evading several death traps, the mercenary finds a throne room full of treasure with Mariah and a slave woman shackled to the throne. The mercenary, the Warlord, Mariah and the slave woman – who finds a golden lasso – battle Deimos until he flees. The mercenary and slave woman realize they need to find their way home and leave via a portal.
In a 1950s film noir/sci-fi story, at the town ofGrovers Mill, federal agentsClark Kent andKing Faraday investigate reports of a crashed UFO. They go to a diner to meet with state trooper Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, and other witnesses. Kent, Wayne, and Prince hear eerie music which no one else can hear. All the diner's patrons are revealed to beWhite Martians who pursue Kent, Wayne, and Prince to the crashed UFO. Inside, they find a Green Martian, who a hysterical Faraday insists they kill. After Kent subdues Faraday, the room transforms, and they realize that the world around them was an illusion except for them, Faraday, and the Martian, whom they deduce is a prisoner and free.
The Martian informs them that he isJ'onn J'onzz, and he reveals to the three who they really are and that the four of them had been taken captive by aZeta-beam teleporter,[b] with J'onzz's psychic abilities being harnessed to project illusions on the artificial planet Warworld, which is powered by the violence and fear of its prisoners. He had also been attempting to lead them back to reality via telepathic messages. He informs them to leave immediately butLobo subdues Kent, Wayne, and Prince and brings J'onzz toMongul, who was searching through the multiverse and taking captives and had hoped J'onzz would have the key to harness Warworld's planet-destroying power.
Seeking to take Warworld for himself, Lobo betrays Mongul as he is about to execute J'onzz. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman recover their costumes and fight their way to Mongul's throne room while J'onzz possesses and merges with a White Martian, revealing that the two halves of the key were hidden in the DNA of both Martian races. Possessing both halves, J'onzz uses the key to activate Warworld's self-destruct sequence. Amysterious woman rescues Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman and teleports them back to safety at theMonitor's satellite just in time before Warworld explodes. She states that Warworld's destruction is nothing compared to the forthcomingCrisis.[c]
| Voice actor[1] | Character |
|---|---|
| Jensen Ackles | Bruce Wayne / Batman, "Officer Wayne", "The Mercenary" |
| Stana Katic | Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, "Angel", Slave Woman |
| Darren Criss | Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman, "Agent Kent" |
| Ike Amadi | J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter (Credited), Long Haul Truck Driver (Uncredited) |
| Troy Baker | Jonah Hex |
| Matt Bomer | "Old Man" |
| Roger Cross | Machiste |
| Brett Dalton | Bat Lash (Credited), Mr. Lang (Uncredited) |
| Trevor Devall | Drifter |
| John DiMaggio | Lobo |
| Robin Atkin Downes | Mongul |
| Frank Grillo | Agent Faraday |
| Rachel Kimsey | Mariah Romanova |
| David Lodge | Sheriff |
| Damian O'Hare | Deimos |
| Teddy Sears | Travis Morgan / Warlord |
| Kari Wahlgren | Harbinger (Credited),Cinnamon (Uncredited),Mrs. Lang (Uncredited) |
Justice League: Warworld was announced byWarner Bros. Home Entertainment atSan Diego Comic-Con 2022, after the premiere ofGreen Lantern: Beware My Power.
In 2023, the voice cast for the film was revealed[1] and the film was given an R-rating.[2] The film takes inspiration fromAction Comics titlesWarworld Rising (2022),The Arena (2022), andWarworld Revolution (2022).[3]
The film explores three different film genres,western,fantasy, andsci-fi from the 50s. This was done at the suggestion of executive producer Butch Lukic, who wanted to explore different genres after working for years on superhero animation, an idea director Jeff Wamester liked.[4] The overall story model was inspired byKing Kong and how it had characters on multiple storylines before converging on the climax.[4] For the Western sequences, Lukic drew inspiration from 60s and 70sSpaghetti Western films, particularlyHigh Plains Drifter, while the fantasy sequences were inspired by films such asConan the Barbarian.[4]
Justice League: Warworld was released byWarner Bros. Home Entertainment on July 25, 2023.[5] The film was also screened atSan Diego Comic-Con on July 21, four days ahead of its release despite also being leaked online.[6]Warworld and other animated DC films were released and labeled asDC Elseworlds.[7]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 43% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 5.00/10.[8] Hayden Mears ofIGN rated the film six out of 10, noting it feels like an event film, but lacks the emotional payoffs for a satisfying experience.[9] Sam Stone ofComic Book Resources criticized the film's "anthology" type story, finding the main plotline following Batman and Warlord more interesting than Superman's and Wonder Woman's side stories.[10]
