The long-rumoured Justice League movie looks set to go ahead, however it has been reported today that neither Christian Bale nor Brandon Routh are due to appear.

Justice League is a DC Comics superhero team whose original incarnation in the 60s included Superman and Batman. However, according to Moviehole.net, Bale and Routh, who played Batman and Superman in recent film updates, will film their respective sequels, while an all-new cast will be used for the Justice League project.

Rumours have been circulating for months about the film, with early indications that the pair would join up on screen. Other US sites have suggested Mad Max and, more recently, Happy Feet director, George Miller, will man the Warner Bros project, with Kiernan and Michele Mulroney taking on scriptwriting duties following the completion of their work on the forthcoming Kiefer Sutherland movie, Mirrors. Some speculation suggests Justice League could be an all-CGI affair.

It is not clear who will star in the movie, or the final list of characters. Over the years dozens of superheroes have been part of the Justice League team. The original and perhaps best-known incarnation, however, featured Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter alongside Batman and Superman.

The next Batman film, The Dark Knight, due for release next year, is currently in production and will follow on from the critical success of 2005's Batman Begins, which also had a reasonable time at the box office. Superman Returns, released in 2006, also provided decent box office returns, grossing $200m in the US.

However, both films were considered to have underperformed in comparison to the first two Spider-Man movies, both of which comfortably made it onto a list of the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time. Work on a planned Superman sequel is not yet under way.