Studio has hired 'Gangster Squad' writer Will Beall to pen script.
By Kevin P. Sullivan

Justice League
Photo: Everett/Rex Features/Warner Bros

With the enormous success of Marvel's superhero crossover "," it was only a matter of time before we heard of renewed efforts from DC Comics and Warner Bros. to get their own franchise mashup, "Justice League," off the ground.

So it should come as no surprise that a new report from Variety confirms that Warner Bros. hired "Gangster Squad" writer Will Beall to write the "Justice League" movie sometime last year.

Beall has become the go-to guy for Warner Bros., which recently hired him to write the screenplays for its "Lethal Weapon" reboot and the "" remake, which has director Nicolas Winding Refn and star currently attached.

The report from Variety points out that the Beall hire occurred while Marvel was assembling "The Avengers," so the move was more "in anticipation of — rather than a reaction to — the box office success." Though the actual hire took place months ago, Beall has yet to turn in a script.

Along the lines of the "Avengers" development pattern, Warner Bros. has also brought in a writer to take a swing at one of DC's biggest heroes, Wonder Woman. Michael Goldenberg, one of the three writers of "Green Lantern," will reportedly pen the script.

The other two "Green Lantern" writers, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green, are already at work on a screenplay for "The Flash."

Hiring Beall is Warner's first major step toward producing a "Justice League" film since production stalled out in 2008. Then, "Mad Max" director George Miller was set to helm the film with Adam Brody as the Flash, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman and a relatively unknown Armie Hammer as Batman. Warner Bros. claimed that a lack of tax breaks and the inability to hire a screenwriter to rewrite the script during the WGA strike stalled that version.

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