The Mulroneys' script featured Batman creating the spy-satellite Brother Eye to monitor Earth's superheroes and keeping detailed files on how to neutralize them should they go rogue, which are stolen by corrupt businessman Maxwell Lord, a powerful telepath who wants to use a nanotechnological virus to turn the entire planet into a hive-mind under his control. After a failed attempt to use Batman's counter-measures to assassinate Earth's heroes, they join forces to stop him, facing off against the OMACs, an army of androids capable of adapting to their superhuman abilities.
Miller wanted to cast young unknowns for the lead roles, and after a lenghty audition process, settled for D.J. Cotrona as Superman, Armie Hammer as Batman, Megan Gale as Wonder Woman, Common as Green Lantern John Stewart, Adam Brody as the Flash, Santiago Cabrera as Aquaman, Hugh Keays-Byrne as Martian Manhunter, Jay Baruchel as Maxwell Lord, Teresa Palmer as Talia Al Ghul and Zoe Kazan as Iris West. Michael Gough was approached to reprise his role as Alfred Pennyworth.
Production faced setbacks from the beginning. The 2009 writer's strike prevented the Mulroneys from revising the script based on WB's notes to scale down the budget, leaving it to Miller to hastily rewrite it in order to meet the production schedule. The casting choices faced insane, FANT4STIC-level fan backlash that made the studio jumpy with the prospect of the movie's biggest target audience boycotting it. Furthermore, Miller demanded to shoot in Australia, but the government issued taxes that WB refused to pay up, leading to a months-long dispute in which no one was blinking. And all while this was going on, WB was spending heavily with pre-production, building numerous sets and props that would eventually go unused.
