The Justice League fallout has been fast, furious and, at times, difficult to examine from afar.
But if there’s one thing we do know, it’s that Zack Snyder stepped aside mid-way through production to allow Joss Whedon (Avengers, Batgirl) to shepherd Warner’s big-name blockbuster over the finish line. Back then, it was reported that Snyder was taking time off to deal with a family tragedy, leaving the Powers That Be with little choice but to hire a replacement in the midst of filming.
Whedon’s sudden appointment led to a series of extensive reshoots, according to multiple sources, though we’re now learning that Zack Snyder may have been fired from the DC Extended Universe. It’s by no means the first time that we’ve heard rumblings of Warner’s frustrations with the filmmaker, who has delivered three fairly divisive DC blockbusters in Man of Steel, Batman V Superman and the aforementioned Justice League.
But a follow-up report from Collider suggests that Snyder was indeed fired by Warner Bros. after his early cut of Justice League was deemed “unwatchable.”
It’s a critique that was apparently voiced by two separate sources with knowledge of the situation. Then again, there was also a time when Wonder Woman was described as, and we quote, a “discombobulated mess” of epic proportions just prior to release. And we all know how that one turned out. Our advice? Take this with a grain of salt.
Perhaps the more telling sign of Justice League‘s production woes – or lack thereof – will be whether Warner decides to work with Zack Snyder in the future? We’ve heard the studio is keen on a director-driven approach to the DCEU henceforth (James Wan helming Aquaman, for instance), so there’s no doubt that Snyder’s misfire has had a marked effect on Warner’s superhero output.