We bring the 2nd Unit back to dip our toes into Development Hell once again...kind of! As a pseudo-sequel of our Superman Lives episodes, we dig into the history of what was supposed to be Justice League: Mortal, the short-lived but fascinating first attempt at the superhero team-up. Directed by George Miller, written by Kieran and Michelle Mulroney, and starring a surprisingly young cast including Armie Hammer, Common, and Jay Baruchel, this goofy comic-book-accurate project met insurmountable obstacles on the way to production. We break down the full cast and story of this project (thanks in large part to cast interviews, articles from Collider, and the great work of the Canceled Movie Report podcast), go over a brief history of the Justice League, and explore the biggest reasons for this film's collapse: the Australian government and the 2007-2008 Writers' Guild of America strike. We marvel at the gambit of casting such young actors for such iconic adult roles, give a brief lesson on rabies symptoms, hypothesize future advancements in villainous tracking technology, have a fun discussion on currency conversion rates and tax credits, subject you to some truly awful Batman voices, remind you that Jack is still trying to track down a VHS copy of Nukie to torture Joe with, bring awareness to the pitfalls of bad acronyms/initialisms, Jack plugs his latest creative project, and we ask a question we've been wondering for some time: do the members of the Justice League all share a tailor? Suit up, settle into the Brother Eye console, and enjoy the show.

CW: Brief mention of Armie Hammer's sexual misconduct allegations, terrible Batman voices

Podcast Plugged In This Episode: The Geeky Dad Podcast (@geekydadpodcast and @RaphaelMoran on Twitter)

Things Mentioned In This Episode: Paul Dini, Grant Morrison, Elongated Man, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Guy Gardiner, Superman Lives, Superman Returns, Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Christopher Reeve, Bryan Singer, Clerks 2, Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Joel Schumacher, The Dark Knight, Batman Versus Superman, JJ Abrams, MCU, Iron Man, Hulk, David Goyer, Kieran Mulroney, Michelle Mulroney, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Jason Reitman, Thank You For Smoking, Aaron Eckhardt, Juno, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, George Miller, Mad Max, Mad Max: Fury Road, Happy Feet,