Justice League insiders speak out about what happened behind-the-scenes
One insider reportedly called the movie 'a Frankenstein'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Justice League has underperformed somewhat at the Box Office, analysts predicting the blockbuster may not recoup the production and marketing costs.
As a result, rumours have spread like wildfire online regarding what happened behind-the-scenes at Warner Bros., many fans curious about how Henry Cavil’s moustache made the final cut.
Speaking to The Wrap, one insider reportedly called the film “a Frankenstein” made by an ensemble of executives and directors with no guiding vision.
According to the report, Warner Bros. executives were concerned by the reaction to Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman, some wanting him off Justice League.
However, the Avengers-style team-up was extremely close to filming, Snyder and the crew deep into preparation for filming. Soon enough — and partly thanks to Warner Bros. announcing a merger with AT&T — Avengers director Joss Whedon was brought on board to bring some levity to the project, all with Snyder’s blessing.
Following Whedon joining, Snyder’s daughter passed away. While he wanted the work to act as a “refuge”, the insider says that due to Warner Bros. embracing Whedon’s lighter tone, “It stopped being a good situation on any level” and Snyder departed to focus on family.
When Wonder Woman came out to critical acclaim, Whedon — who took over as director — had to decide whether to follow the vision set out by Snyder or embrace the dun Patty Jenkins brought to the cinematic universe. Unfortunately, there were huge time constraints, due to Warner Bros. adamantly sticking to a 17 November release date.
“I think Warner Bros. biggest misstep was not pushing the release of Justice League when Snyder had to step aside,” an executive told the publication.
As a result of reshoots and time constraints, the movie ended up with a poorly CGI’d moustache on Henry Cavil (the actor was on load from Paramount who were filming Mission: Impossible 6) and a final movie that reportedly left few people at the studio satisfied.
The future of the DC Universe now seems unclear. Whereas Warner Bros. had previously announced dozens of superhero flicks, few now have release dates. Many hopes now rest on Aquaman, which has already been filmed, to redeem the DC Extended Universe.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments