'Justice League' movie could begin filming immediately after 'Batman vs. Superman' with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in starring role

The reports and rumors about the production of the Man of Steel sequel, known for now as Batman vs. Superman, have come faster than a series of punches from The Flash. The latest news is certainly a doozy, but as always, we stress that this is mere speculation until the studio confirms anything.

Latino Review reports that a Justice League movie could begin filming back-to-back with Batman vs. Superman with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as one of its main stars. The article cites unnamed industry sources to claim that Warner Bros. and DC Comics want to forge into a shared movie universe similar to what Marvel has done so well with The Avengers and its other properties, and could want to do so with a Justice League film possibly as early as 2016.

Latino Review's report does not name the character Johnson would play (more on that in a bit), but points out that he would likely appear in a cameo for a supposed cliffhanger at the end of Batman vs. Superman, which would lead directly into Justice League.

Again, this is pure speculation at this point, and Latino Review even says that its report is "a combination of insider information and good old fashioned speculation from folks who've been in the game a long, long time."

But let's look at the reasons this could be true. For starters, Johnson has indicated in the past that he could play Green Lantern/John Stewart and explicitly stated recently that he had met with DC and WB for a 2014 project.

Furthermore, back-to-back filming has been done in the past, with Back to the Future 2 and 3, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End as a few of the more famous examples. If DC and WB truly want to cash in on the current fervor for superhero movies, then they very well could want to start production on a Justice League movie as soon as possible.

On the other hand, it's late in the production process to make a move like this, unless this was the plan all along. If not, then the glaringly obvious attempt by the studio to get in on the shared movie universe game could ultimately hurt fans' perception of the movie (though it would still likely make absurd money), but again, this is all pure speculation, and extremely preliminary speculation, at that.

But enough from me! What do you make of all this, comic/movie fans? When will we see a Justice League movie? Let us know in the comments below.