Ever since we got our first look at Justice League with last year’s Comic-Con trailer, there’s been a lot of talk about the production having being reworked from top to bottom after the mixed reception to Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. These rumours only intensified when we learned that Joss Whedon was replacing Zack Snyder as the movie’s director for its extensive reshoots.
In particular, it was often said that Warner Bros. were looking to make the film lighter and funnier, so as to get away from the gloomy tone of BvS that proved so controversial. One Justice League star, however, maintains that these stories simply aren’t true. While talking with Empire (via Comic Book Movie), Ezra Miller explained that it’d always been Snyder’s intention to make Justice League a lighter movie from the very beginning.
“The first time I ever sat in Zack’s office, he told me people were mad at him for making things too dark. Zack always intended for the Justice League to rise out of the darkness, and maybe even bring Batman with them. Maybe an inch.”
Miller’s comments echo those made by Snyder himself last year, in which he maintained that the point was always to bring the characters to their lowest ebb in BvS before having them rise to greatness in Justice League. “So obviously I think [BvS‘s negative reaction] affected the process in some way,” he explained. “But it was also kind of where we were headed.”
This is the latest statement from the cast in support of original director Zack Snyder. Due to Whedon’s appointment as his replacement, the question of ownership over the film has been much discussed. However, the stars of Justice League have no doubt about which director it belongs to. “This is Zack Snyder’s movie,” Gal Gadot has simply said.
Wherever the lighter tone comes from, it thankfully seems to have worked, with feedback from advance screenings labelling it as “epic.” Let’s hope the reviews are just as positive when Justice League arrives in cinemas on November 17th.