The release of Zack Snyder's Justice League is no doubt a triumph for longtime DCEU fans considering the fact that the road to get there wasn't easy. That being said, a good chunk of the discussion from the fandom and even journalists was the allegations towards the on-set behavior of the theatrical cut's director, Joss Whedon .
It's no secret that Justice League had its fair share of ups and downs, mainly because of the troublesome production history of the film. When Snyder departed the project due to a family tragedy, Whedon took over to finish the original vision of the director, but it was clear that this didn't happen when the movie debuted in theaters.
Over the years, it became apparent that the film wasn't the only problem then since it was bared that the director demonstrated abusive behavior on set by Cyborg actor Ray Fisher. Since then, Fisher didn't stop publicly calling out Whedon for his behavior , even leading to an investigation led by Warner Bros.
Now, it seems that Fisher wasn't the only Justice League cast member who was affected.
JOSS WHEDON'S JUSTICE LEAGUE FIASCO UNCOVERED
The Hollywood Reporter shared in a report that Justice League director Joss Whedon “clashed with all the stars” of the DCEU film, including Alfred Pennyworth star Jeremy Irons.
The outlet revealed that one knowledgeable source shared that Gal Gadot “had multiple concerns” with the revised version of the 2017 superhero team-up, including “issues about her character being more aggressive than her character in Wonder Woman .”
In addition, Gadot wanted to “make the character flow from one movie to the next.”
The Hollywood Reporter unveiled that the biggest clash happened when Whedon forced Gadot to record lines she didn't like while also threatening “to harm” the career of the actress and “disparaged” Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins.
Furthermore, a witness who later spoke to investigators described what happened after one clash between Whedon and Gadot:
"Joss was bragging that he's had it out with Gal. He told her he's the writer and she's going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie.”
Lastly, a source from the outlet shared that Gadot and Jenkins “went to battle,” and it eventually culminated in a meeting with then-Warners Bros. Chairman Kevin Tsujihara.
Gadot said that "Warner Bros. handled it in a timely manner:"
“I had my issues with [Whedon] and Warner Bros. handled it in a timely manner.”
TROUBLESOME JUSTICE LEAGUE PRODUCTION
This latest piece of information adds another layer of intrigue surrounding the behind-the-scenes debacle of Justice League . The fact that Whedon “clashed” with every cast member of the 2017 superhero film is worrisome, and this will likely damage the director's reputation moving forward.
At this stage, Gadot is one of the cornerstones of the DCEU, and the actress serving as one of the victims of Whedon's abuse on-set goes to show the lasting impact of the whole ordeal.
The director's threats all the way to his demoralizing acts towards Gadot and the rest of the cast are unprofessional, and it's only right that they were able to open this situation to the higher-ups of Warner Bros.
The portrayal of Wonder Woman in Whedon's version is vastly different from what was presented in Zack Snyder's Justice League , with fans quickly noticing the difference. It's unfortunate that the actress had to go through such abuse from Whedon, and this prompts more questions if there are still pieces of information that are being left out.
Still, given Snyder was the one who introduced Gadot's Amazonian hero to the DCEU, it was fitting that the character had a redeemable arc in the director's cut of Justice League that premiered last month.
While Gadot's situation was already handled, it's clear that the fight is far from over, especially now that Ray Fisher is still in the midst of a back and forth against Warner Bros. Hopefully, everything will be resolved sooner rather than later.
