Justice League (2017) BTS
The camera jostles slightly as it follows Henry Cavill through the dimly lit corridors of the studio lot. He glances back, notices the camera, and grins.
"So it's the—what, second month now of filming?" He looks at someone off-camera. "Yeah, second month. And it's been great so far. We're really—"
[Camera swings to avoid a crew member pushing a cart]
"—driving on all cylinders, as they say."
Walking alongside him are several people: his personal assistant with a headset and tablet, his dialect coach Marcus, and one of the ADs. A makeup assistant hurries past them.
"We're five minutes behind!" she calls back.
Henry laughs. "Always five minutes behind, aren't we?" He shakes his head, still walking.
They pass through a doorway into the makeup and wardrobe wing. The space is packed—racks of costumes everywhere, mirrors with lights, crew members weaving between stations. Henry slows down as they pass one of the larger setups and points.
"And we have our Batman now, fully part of the production."
The camera pans over. Jensen Ackles is sitting in a makeup chair, half in costume. He looks up.
"I've always been here, Cavill."
Henry looks at the camera, completely deadpan. "No, he was not."
Jensen laughs. The makeup artist gently nudges his head back into position. Henry gives him a mock salute and keeps walking.
They arrive at Henry's station—a large area with curtains where the Superman suit hangs on a mannequin. Two wardrobe assistants step forward immediately.
"Alright, give me a minute," Henry says to the camera, disappearing behind a privacy screen.
[Camera stays on the assistants prepping pieces of the suit]
A few minutes later, Henry emerges in the black undersuit. The assistants move in, starting the process. Outer suit pieces. Belt. Boots. The cape—
"Usually we don't have the cape," Henry says, arms raised while they work. "CGI does that. But this scene's indoors, so—yeah, actual cape today."
He stands patient while they adjust everything. He's clearly done this many times before.
Once the suit is on, he moves to the makeup chair. Three people immediately swarm him. One starts with foundation. Another has a palette of bruise colors.
"Just subtle stuff," the artist says, dabbing carefully at Henry's cheekbone. "Superman doesn't bruise easy, but he's been in a fight, so..."
A makeup artist named Jenna leans in with a fine brush, adding tiny red scratches across his forehead.
"These need to look fresh but not too fresh, you know? Like maybe ten minutes old—"
[Camera lingers on the detail work for a moment, then cuts]
[New scene]
The camera follows a different crew member now—Tom, one of the gaffers. He's navigating through the main studio, and the space is massive. High ceilings disappear into darkness. The floor is a maze of cables, light rigs, camera tracks, set pieces.
"Watch your step," Tom says without turning around. "I'm not liable if you trip."
[Camera adjusts, carefully stepping over cables]
And there, dominating the center of it all, is the Batcave.
The camera pans slowly across the set. The Batcave. Same one from the Batman films—jagged rock formations, glass-and-steel platforms, the massive Batcomputer with all its monitors. The vehicle bay where the Tumbler used to sit. But there are differences now. New sections.
Tom gestures broadly at the set, tool belt jangling.
"Yeah, moving this thing was a fucking nightmare." He pauses. "Can I say that? Whatever. It was in the UK for the Batman films. Director Nolan had it built there and it's been sitting in storage since Part 3 wrapped. But they wanted it here now, permanent-like, so we had to take the whole bloody thing apart and ship it across the Atlantic."
He shakes his head.
"Three weeks just to get it standing again. And half the mounts didn't fit right because the measurements—"
[Someone off-camera calls his name]
"Yeah, coming!" He looks back at the camera. "Anyway, looks good now, doesn't it?"
[Cut]
A different crew member now—Marissa, one of the set designers. She's walking through the cave, pointing things out.
"So we made some changes. Over there, that's the new medical bay. Added that for this film."
She walks toward another section where a large round table sits, looking somewhat out of place.
"This, uh... I actually don't know why this is still here." She looks around, genuinely confused. "It's not for the Batcave."
Cameraman: "What is it?"
"It was supposed to be for—Mr. Adler wanted a round table for the Justice League. Like a whole thing. But I'm pretty sure they scrapped that idea, so..." She trails off, looking at it. "Hey, Marcus!"
[She walks toward someone off-camera]
"Why is the table still—"
[Cut]
Wide shot now. The camera pulls back, taking in the full scope of the set. The shadows, the stone, the tech nestled in the cave. Crew members everywhere—adjusting lights, checking camera angles, running cables.
[Background chatter, equipment moving, general set noise]
[Skip ahead - timestamp shows few hours later]
Brenton Thwaites is being fitted into the Nightwing suit. Two wardrobe assistants adjust the armored plating on his shoulders. Another tugs at the torso fit. The suit is sleek—black with electric blue accents down the sides and across the chest.
Cameraman: "How's it feel?"
Brenton grins, flexing his arms to test the range of motion. "Feels amazing. Looks amazing. I can actually move way better in this one than—yeah, way better."
Cameraman: "What happened to your old one?"
"The new Robin has it." Brenton laughs.
[Cut]
Now the camera's on a younger actor—Maxwell Jenkins, the new Jason Todd. He's standing near a costume rack in his regular clothes. Band t-shirt, dark jeans. He looks up when the camera approaches.
Cameraman: "How you doing, man? How's it feel being here?"
Maxwell scratches the back of his head. "Uh, honestly? It's kind of overwhelming. Like..." He gestures toward the Batcave set in the distance. "I'm on the set of Justice League. That's—yeah, that's insane."
Cameraman: "They gave you the suit yet?"
Maxwell laughs. "No, not yet. I don't think—I mean, I've seen it. It's really cool. But I haven't actually worn it yet."
Cameraman: "You excited to?"
"Are you kidding? Yeah." He grins, then seems to remember himself and tries to play it cooler. "I mean, yeah. Should be fun."
Brad Bird stands in the center, gesturing as he talks with Jenson and Henry, both now in full costume. Jenson's Batsuit is imposing, more armored than the one from Part 3. Henry's Superman suit gleams under the set lights, the red cape draped over his shoulders.
Brad's gesturing, blocking out the scene. "So you're going to enter from here, and then—"
Maxwell and Brenton walk up, joining the circle.
"—when you get to the computer, that's when Dick makes the comment about the name, right?"
Jensen nods, arms crossed.
Henry's looking down at his marks on the floor. "And I'm standing where?"
"Right there is fine. You'll move after his line." Brad mimes something with his hands. "Like this—just a small reaction."
Brenton raises his hand slightly. "Do I say it right away or—"
"Yeah, jump in. Cut him off, actually. It plays better." Brad demonstrates the timing with his hands.
Maxwell just watches, taking it all in.
[Cut]
Jensen's standing alone near the Batcomputer now. The monitors glow behind him.
"The new look for the Batcave?" He glances back at it. "Yeah, it's great. I mean, it'd be weird if it didn't change, right? He would upgrade things, add new tech..." He looks back. "This version's my favorite so far, I think."
[Cut]
The camera's on Michael Caine now. He's off to the side in full Alfred costume, talking quietly with Maxwell. He leans down a bit.
"...and the most important thing is, don't try to do too much. Just listen and react, yeah?"
Maxwell nods.
"You'll be brilliant. Trust me, I've seen you in rehearsals."
Maxwell grins. "Thanks, Mr. Caine."
"Michael, please." He pats the kid's shoulder. "We're colleagues now."
Maxwell laughs.
[Cut]
The cameras are rolling now. Lights are set.
The BTS camera focuses on Brad Bird at the monitor. On screen, the scene is playing out—Superman being led through the Batcave by Batman and Nightwing toward the Batcomputer.
SUPERMAN: "Can you track them?"
BATMAN: "I can. On the compu—"
NIGHTWING: "On the Batcomputer, sure..."
Batman pauses, looking at him.
BATMAN: "Yes. The Batcomputer."
NIGHTWING: (turning to Superman, grinning) "Can you believe he was just calling this place 'the cave' until I named it the Batcave?"
SUPERMAN: (slight smirk) "Yes. Yes, I can."
Batman turns back to the monitors without comment.
Alfred enters frame carrying a tea tray. He offers it to Superman and asks Batman if he is leaving the city.
[Cut]
Jason Todd appears from near the vehicle bay, hands in his pockets, watching. Batman notices him.
The scene continues Batman and Superman discussing the creatures, the strange events, plans to investigate Gateway City.
BATMAN: (to Nightwing before leaving) "You're in charge while I'm gone."
NIGHTWING: "Got it."
JASON: "Can I go with him?"
Batman looks at Jason. Long pause.
BATMAN: (reluctant) "He can go with you."
Jason tries not to grin too obviously.
NIGHTWING: "Don't worry, B. I'll keep him out of trouble."
Batman stares at him a moment longer, then turns and walks away, cape sweeping. Superman follows, glancing back with a small smile.
The camera stays on Nightwing and Jason watching them leave.
JASON: "So... can we go now?"
NIGHTWING: (clapping his shoulder) "Yeah, kid. Let's go."
BRAD: (off-camera) "And cut! That's good. Let's reset for the next—"
[Video ends]
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Daniel POV
"Yeah, I saw the leaks," I said to Dave over the phone.
The promotional photos of each Justice League member had been leaked yesterday. They showed all of them in their new looks. The photos were blurry and poorly lit, but it was still frustrating that things were leaking so easily now, a problem DC had not really dealt with until last year.
"It's fine," Dave said, his tone calm as always.
"Yeah, might as well release them officially next month," I said.
Dave agreed. "I'll talk with marketing."
I ended the call and walked toward the living room with a bowl of popcorn in hand, where Margot was waiting for me.
"What took you so long?" she said as I sat down. She immediately reached over, grabbed some popcorn, and popped a few pieces into her mouth.
Birdman had been nominated for all the major categories it could qualify for at the Golden Globes, and Margot was nominated as well. She was almost certain to be nominated for an Oscar too, but her chances of winning were becoming very slim given the caliber of films this year. And one of those films was what we were about to watch.
The movie was Fences, and I liked it. The performances were all great, and by the time the credits rolled, I was sure of one thing.
I looked at Margot. "Yeah, you're not winning against that," I said, pointing at Viola Davis's name on the screen.
Margot took a sip of wine and sighed. "Yep."
I paused. "You could win the Golden Globes, though."
"Maybe."
"You don't sound convinced," I said.
"I'm just being realistic," she replied, her voice sounding drunk. "Viola just… gave one of the best performances I've ever seen. If I lose to her, there's no shame in that… no shame at all."
I nodded slowly.
She set the glass down on the table and stretched. "Alright. Let's go to bed."
She grinned lazily. "Mmm… might've had a bit too much to drink. You might have to carry me."
"Let's go then," I said as I stood up, then swept her into my arms in one smooth motion.
"Yaaayy!" she said, wrapping her arms around my neck and giggling.
I glanced at the bottle on the table and realized she'd drunk most of it.
"Okay, you are officially locked out of the wine cellar," I said, shaking my head.
"You're no fun..."