WB Animation’s films and shows have always been streets ahead of DC’s live-action offerings. The studio is known for creating shows such as Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League, as well as films such as The Dark Knight Returns and others. The studio’s latest offering Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths will be wrapping up the Tomorrowverse.
The studio has gone through several franchises such as the Timmverse, DCAMU, and the latest Tomorrowverse. However, one of the most beloved franchises that explored many characters in the DC roster was the DCAMU which ended with Justice League Dark: Apokalips War. One of the reasons why the latter is beloved by fans is due to the ‘no limitations’ rule that the studio had which gave freedom to the writers to hold no bars. Spoilers ahead.
Justice League Dark: Apokalips War Screenwriter Spoke About The ‘No Limitations’ Rule At WB Animation
The DC Animated Movie Universe began with the critically acclaimed Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. The franchise consisted of sixteen films that explored various Justice League members as well as other superheroes such as Constantine, Damian Wayne, Etrigan, and more. The film also explored more supernatural elements with films such as Justice League Dark.
Writer Ernie Atlbacker reportedly joined the franchise when WB Animation needed a writer for Justice League Dark. The writer was reportedly invited by Alan Burnett, renowned producer and screenwriter of classic DCAU films and series. Altbacker had reportedly bonded with Burnett over the former’s work on Static Shock (via SciFi Now).
While he began his stint with the DCAU with Justice League Dark, he went on to collaborate on other films such as Teen Titans: The Judas Contract and the climactic Justice League Dark: Apokalips War. The latter served as the climax of the franchise and Altbacker mentioned that there were no limitations while they wrapped up storylines and character arcs. He said in an interview with SciFi Now,
“No limitations. This was the big ender…I actually saw a great tweet by [producer] James Tucker that says when he’s ending a storyline; he’s like a bad tenant being kicked out of the house, he’s going to wreck everything! That’s exactly what we went into it with.”
The film included multiple deaths, including characters such as Lois Lane and Cyborg, who become victims during the battle. The film did not hesitate to kill off such important characters. The writer had mentioned that no one in the film would be safe from their plans to give a proper end to the franchise and that many characters could get axed.
WB Animation Wanted One Character From Each Group To Be Present In Justice League Dark: Apokalips War
The climactic Justice League Dark: Apokalips War features many classic heroes from the DC roster. While regulars such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman feature in leading capacities, the film also sees characters such as Constantine, Etrigan, Raven, Captain Boomerang, and Harley Quinn. The film sees an all-hands-on-deck situation to save the world from Darkseid.
Ernie Altbacker mentioned that the idea was to have one representative from each group in the DC universe fighting the battle from their side. He mentioned to SciFi Now that they devised the story to see all the characters meet at the end and finish their character arcs. He said,
“I think they made the conscious decision (the right one) to focus on one character from each of the groups that we were going to use in this all-encompassing film. It was going to be Superman from the Justice League, Constantine from Justice League Dark. Then Raven for the Titans and Harley for the Suicide Squad…Each of the groups needed one main pillar…It all comes down to the same pinpoint of time. What’s going to happen?”
The writer also spoke about the concept of having unorthodox team-ups in the film such as Superman and Raven, which he claimed to be his favorite.
