We Finally Know What George Miller’s Martian Manhunter Would’ve Looked Like in Justice League Mortal
A recent leak from a make-up artist gives more details on George Miller's canceled film Justice League: Mortal.
Finally, the Martian Manhunter has revealed himself. A founding member of DC‘s Justice League of America, the shape-shifting Martian J’onn J’onzz was slated to appear in one of the most infamous canceled movie projects, the Justice League film almost directed by Mad Max creator George Miller.
Miller’s Justice League: Mortal would have featured the “Big Seven” most associated with the Justice League, including the Martian Manhunter. And to play the Manhunter, Miller turned to one of his favorite collaborators, Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played Toecutter in the first Mad Max film and would later go on to play Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road.
Thanks to new behind-the-scenes photos posted by prosthetics artist Antony McMullen, we can finally see what the big screen version of Martian Manhunter would have looked like, as envisioned by Miller and his team. And he looks… pretty much like Martian Manhunter. He’s green, he has red eyes, and he has an exposed chest. There’s a bit of extra business across the torso, but it’s basically the same as the comics.
Created by Joseph Samachson and Joe Certa, Martian Manhunter first appeared in 1955’s Detective Comics #225 in a story that added a sci-fi bent to the standard detective story. After being pulled to Earth from his native Mars by the scientist Dr. Erdel, J’onn J’onzz adopted the human identity of Detective John Jones. However, Martian Manhunter found his real place in the DC Universe as a mainstay in the Justice League, often serving as leader. The Manhunter’s inclusion in the movie is just one of the ways that Miller would have stayed faithful to the comics.
Based on Mark Waid‘s Tower of Babel storyline and written by Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney, Mortal would have starred Armie Hammer as Batman, Adam Brody as the Flash, D.J. Cortana as Superman, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, Common as Green Lantern, and Santiago Cabrera as Aquaman. The film saw the team assembling to fight against Talia al Ghul (Teresa Palmer) and Maxwell Lord (Jay Baruchel). Mortal also included aspects of the big Infinite Crisis comic book crossover happening at the time, including Max Lord’s turn against the heroes and the use of Batman’s surveillance robot Brother Eye.
That said, McMullen’s design does take some liberties. In place of the circle logo that J’onn often uses, the movie version has more of a winged icon, looking more like something from Star Trek‘s Romulan Star Empire. Furthermore, there appear to be strange letters under the logo, and possibly along his arms and ribs, suggesting a Martian language.
None of those changes would bother even the most devoted Martian Manhunter fan, especially when they see the face. Keays-Byrne gives the character a sadness and dignity, without ever sacrificing his alien nature. In the best Manhunter stories, J’onn carries the weight of losing his people while still feeling sympathy for humanity, even if he cannot quite understand them.
While it’s unclear if Justice League: Mortal would have worked (the Armie Hammer casting didn’t age well), there’s no doubt that Keays-Byrne would have made a great Martian Manhunter. Keays-Byrne has a level of theatricality needed for that type of character, while still retaining some empathy.
Sadly, this version of the Manhunter has disappeared, leaving only traces of what could have been.
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Joe George’s writing has appeared at Slate, Polygon, Tor.com, and elsewhere!