| Justice League Dark | |
|---|---|
 Blu-ray disc cover | |
| Directed by | |
| Screenplay by | Ernie Altbacker |
| Story by | Ernie Altbacker J. M. DeMatteis |
| Based on | Justice League Dark byPeter Milligan and Mikel Janín |
| Produced by | James Tucker |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | Christopher D. Lozinski |
| Music by | Robert J. Kral |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Warner Home Video |
Release dates |
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Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Justice League Dark is a 2017 Americanadult animatedscience fantasysuperhero film produced byWarner Bros. Animation and distributed byWarner Home Video. Featuring theDC Comicsteam of the same name created byPeter Milligan and Mikel Janín, the film is the 28th of theDC Universe Animated Original Movies and the eighth of theDC Animated Movie Universe. Unlike most installments in the DC Animated Universe Movies series,Justice League Dark features an original premise. The film starsMatt Ryan asJohn Constantine,Camilla Luddington asZatanna, andJason O'Mara asBatman. Ryan and O'Mara reprised their respective roles from previous media. It was released onDigital HD on January 24, 2017, and on DVD and Blu-ray on February 7.[1]
A sequel,Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, was released in May 2020.
Law-abiding citizens begin to murder people, believing their victims to be demonic creatures. TheJustice League concludes thatmagic is the source of the crimes, butBatman is skeptical. Later that night atWayne Manor, he finds a written message on his walls: "Constantine".
Five days prior,occult detectiveJohn Constantine andJason Blood engage theDemons Three in a high-stakespoker game. Constantine offers his home, theHouse of Mystery, in exchange for a box of artifacts, including the Dreamstone. When both parties are caught cheating, Constantine magically forces Blood to summonEtrigan to dispatch the demons. Blood reprimands Constantine and the two part ways.
In the present, Batman seeks outZatanna to find Constantine. They are joined byDeadman, and the two lead Bruce to the House of Mystery, where they meet Constantine; Constantine reluctantly agrees to help investigate the supernatural occurrences. The team then visitsRitchie Simpson, a collector of magic relics and old friend of Constantine and Zatanna. Ritchie, who has a magical form of cancer, is resentful of Constantine for abandoning him to his current predicament, but loans them the Keshanti Key, which Constantine and Zatanna use to view one of the victim's memories. A mysterious figure summons a creature to consume the victim and cover up the crime. Constantine and Zatanna manage to find how the victim was possessed and narrowly escape, with Constantine retrieving the image of a ring the spirit was wearing.
They return to Ritchie's to identify the ring, but find him close to death with Blood standing over him. Constantine pursues and captures Blood while Batman administers adrenaline to revitalize Ritchie. They take Ritchie and Blood back to the House of Mystery, and Constantine chargesBlack Orchid, the House's spiritual embodiment, with tending to Ritchie while the rest interrogate Blood. Blood explains that he sought to access the House of Mystery and retrieve the Dreamstone, and found Ritchie dying at the scene. He reveals that, centuries ago, the sorcererDestiny created the Dreamstone in an attempt to overthrowCamelot, forcing people to see their worst nightmares and feeding off their torment. Blood was mortally injured in the battle, promptingMerlin to summon Etrigan to defeat Destiny, whose soul was imprisoned in the Dreamstone. After the battle, Merlin bound the dying Blood and Etrigan together, knowing that they would be needed in the future.
Ritchie briefly wakes and claimsFelix Faust was his assailant. WithSwamp Thing's help, the group locates Faust's observatory, defeating him in battle and concluding that he is innocent. Ritchie awakens and is revealed to have the other piece of the Dreamstone, which has been keeping his cancer in remission; he takes over the House and forces Black Orchid to burn her own body to ash. Constantine tries to convince Ritchie that Destiny is manipulating him, but Destiny uses the Dreamstone to take control of his body.
Destiny destroys the House and departs; Zatanna saves the group, but passes out from exertion. The Justice League tries to fight Destiny, but his magic forces them to turn on each other. Etrigan attacks, but is separated from Blood. Constantine summons Swamp Thing, who engages Destiny while Batman and Zatanna subdue the League. Destiny ripsAlec Holland's corpse from Swamp Thing, breaking his will and forcing him to withdraw. Constantine tricks Destiny into bringing him and Deadman within his shield, allowing Deadman to control Destiny long enough for Blood to fatally wound him with Etrigan's sword. Constantine and Batman destroy the Dreamstone, bringing back Ritchie, who is dragged toHell for his sins, ensuring that Destiny cannot come back. Blood succumbs to his original wounds and is buried near his old village. Zatanna, having agreed to join the League, offers Constantine a position as well. He declines, claiming that Batman would not approve, but Zatanna states it was Batman's idea. The two return to the reconstructed House of Mystery to discuss their League applications, and Deadman joins the restored Black Orchid as her soulmate.
Justice League Dark is directed byJay Oliva, and stars the voices ofMatt Ryan,Jason O'Mara,Camilla Luddington,Nicholas Turturro, andRay Chase. It is the firstJustice League film and the second DC Universe animated film and the second film by Warner Bros. Animation to be rated R by theMPAA for its violent content.[2]
Thereview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 78%, with an average score of 7/10, based on 9 reviews.[3]
Dave Trumbore fromCollider wrote: "Justice League Dark is a briskly paced, darkly magic adventure that gives some of DC's most shadowy heroes a chance to shine in a story that folds in mythology and mystery, while never losing sight of what it means to be a hero". Felix Vasquez Jr. of Cinema Craze also praised the film, calling it a "fun celebration of supernatural elements in DC comics".[3]
It earned $3,325,752 from domestic home video sales.[4]
The film spawned a spin-off animated web series titledConstantine: City of Demons that was released onThe CW's online streaming platformCW Seed on March 24, 2018, with Ryan reprising his role. The series was originally made to be a sequel to the live-action seriesConstantine and a part of theArrowverse franchise, but writerJ. M. DeMatteis stated that the direction of this series was changed and that it was set in the DC Animated Movie Universe.[5]
A sequel titledJustice League Dark: Apokolips War was released on May 5, 2020, on digital download, followed by a May 19 release on Blu-ray.[6] It concludes a five-film story arc, based on the "Darkseid War" storyline byGeoff Johns, in the DCAMU that started fromJustice League: The Flashpoint Paradox and its sequelJustice League: War then later revisited inThe Death of Superman andReign of the Supermen. The DC Showcase shortConstantine: The House of Mystery was released in May 2022 and is a narrative sequel toApokolips War.[7]
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