Zack Snyder's Justice League will likely go down as one of the most troubled productions in comic book film history. While the superhero team-up started off easy as Snyder's sequel to Man of Steel and Batman V Superman , a series of unfortunate events led to the release of a very different film with major problems.
The DC director is known for creating a darker tone, which made it tough when the studio wanted to compete with Marvel's success by introducing more the lighthearted fare the MCU studio is known for. To do this, there was no better choice to bring onto the project than The Avengers director Joss Whedon, who rewrote parts of the film and eventually took the directing chair after Snyder departed the project .
Since the announcement was made that Zack Snyder would be returning to finish his cut of the film, many new details of the production have become public. The information places both Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. in a negative light as Snyder was forced away from his own film, and abuse allegations arose against his replacement .
Now, with the long-awaited Snyder Cut only a few short days away, the director has shared his perspective on the situation and Joss Whedon's involvement with the film.
ZACK SNYDER OPENS UP ON JOSS WHEDON'S JUSTICE LEAGUE INVOLVEMENT
In an interview with The New York Times , Zack Snyder has opened up about his experience working on Justice League, notably discussing Avengers director Joss Whedon taking over his film and the issues that followed on set.
Cyborg actor Ray Fisher recently accused Whedon of being abusive to him on set during the film's reshoots, leading to an investigation, and allegations from other members of the cast . Snyder was asked if he was aware of his replacements behavior saying he does “feel bad they had to go through that” as “these guys are my [his] friends” :
"Not at the time. The last thing they wanted to do was call me, complaining about them having a hard time shooting. But in retrospect, do I feel bad that they had to go through that? I do. These guys are my friends, and they’re amazing actors, and they’re strong people. I want them to be taken care of and in a healthy situation. I wasn’t there, so your opinion on it is probably is as good as mine."
The director went on to openly criticized Warner Bros. decision to bring Whedon onto the film for rewrites as he “really didn’t see the point” to the extent he felt “[he couldn't] do this” anymore, leading to his departure from the project:
“It was a bit of a red flag. They were like, We think punching up the humor and doing some more fun stuff will be great. I was like, Hmm, I’m happy to shoot a scene if you guys have a good idea. We kicked around a bunch of different writers, and they had come in with Joss. He’s a talented writer, no two ways about it. But I really didn’t see the point. And then when I was like, I’m done, I can’t do this, I feel like they were volunteering Joss as the de facto finisher.”
SNYDER OPENLY CRITICIZES JOSS WHEDON AND WARNER BROS.
Throughout the marketing for his new cut of Justice League , Snyder has been extremely open regarding his experience making the film in 2017. Given his current affiliation with Warner Bros. on the project, it is surprising that he has been so willing to openly criticize the studio.
However, it is common knowledge that the director won't be taking a paycheck for the film and instead just wanted to complete his vision several years later. The nature of his experiences makes it unlikely that Snyder would be looking to work with the studio much in the immediate future with any hope of seeing his Justice League sequels seemingly gone .
The allegations regarding Joss Whedon's treatment of the film's cast are horrible and only add to the long list of factors that ruined the original superhero team-up. Ever since Justice League released as a critical and financial failure, the director has been yet to touch another comic book property under Marvel or DC. However, he was rumored last year to have discussed taking on the MCU's Fantastic 4 film , a job that ultimately went to Spider-Man: Far From Home director Jon Watts .
With Whedon out the picture, Zack Snyder's Justice League will drop on HBO Max on March 18, with international release details varying by region .
