The prospect of J.J. Abrams’ Dark Universe project not happening continues DC’s 9-year struggle to make a Justice League Dark film. That journey started in 2013 when Guillermo Del Toro said that he was working on a Dark Universe movie. Del Toro’s Dark Universe film began to be developed when Warner Bros. was putting together what would become the DCEU with films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. While Del Toro initially said that his project would not be connected with Man of Steel and other DC movies, he later admitted that Dark Universe could perhaps be part of the DCEU.

Guillermo Del Toro’s Justice League Dark movie ended up never happening, yet the filmmaker remained as an executive producer in the project that later welcomed Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) as the director. Doug Liman entered the project in 2016, with the latest version of the script still based on Del Toro’s original treatment. However, in March 2017, Doug Liman exited the Dark Universe project. A search for a new Justice League Dark director began, but no other updates followed until J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot came on board. J.J Abrams was therefore the most recent hope for a Justice League Dark project.