In a very sad and surprising turn of events, Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder have announced the director's departure from the upcoming superhero team-up film Justice League. Snyder has left to spend time with his family following the suicide of his daughter this past March, and will not be directing the film's additional scenes. Instead the studio has brought on Avengers director Joss Whedon to complete the movie and direct the scenes that have yet to be filmed. It has been stressed that this will still very much be Zack's movie, and he is simply passing the baton to Whedon during his time of mourning.
First off before we get in the business and film related parts of the story, I'd like to send my thoughts and prayers to Zack Snyder and his family following such a tragic loss. I may not have been the biggest fan of Batman v. Superman or some of his past projects, but I have nothing but respect for Snyder and it pains me to think of what he must be going through at this time. I'm sure as much as he cared about doing the film justice, his family and personal life are much more important at the moment. When speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about the matter, the director stated the following:
“In my mind, I thought it was a cathartic thing to go back to work, to just bury myself and see if that was way through it. The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all consuming. And in the last two months I’ve come to the realization …I’ve decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me. They are all having a hard time. I’m having a hard time.”
The studio has made the interesting decision of not delaying the movie but instead replacing Snyder, at the request of the director himself. Most of the movie has apparently been completed, but we have heard about reshoots and additional scenes that have yet to be filmed. Whedon has of course proven that he is more than capable of handling an ensemble group of superheroes as he already did it for Marvel with The Avengers, and its interesting the director will now be attached to both of the competitor's films.
Warner Bros. president Toby Emmerich has made it very clear that the movie will be completed in Snyder's vision, and Whedon won't be changing up anything. Whedon had actually already been involved with the movie, as he was helping with rewrites and scripting the new scenes following a studio test screening of Justice League. Emmerich has stressed that no new characters will be added, and the directing will stick to Snyder's style and tone.
Once again my thoughts are with Zack and his family, and best of luck to Joss Whedon. How do you feel about this tragic news and turn of events? Let us know below
