Justice League: Zack Snyder rips into Joss Whedon's version
Justice Con 2020 witnessed an odd moment when director Zack Snyder said he would never include any footage from the theatrical release of Justice League, directed by Joss Whedon, in his Snyder's Cut. He added that he has not seen the film, that tanked at the box office and led to a colossal heartbreak for DC loyalists. Here are more details.
Snyder had to step down from directing the film in 2017 after facing a personal tragedy. At that time, he had approved of Whedon's decision to complete the film. However, Whedon's humorous take on this ambitiously dark DC franchise didn't go down well with the fans. With mixed reviews, Justice League failed to match up the successive glory of its arch-rival Marvel upon release.
If a box-office failure wasn't enough, the movie landed in controversies with actor Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg, accusing Whedon of being "abusive" and "gross" on the sets of Justice League. Director Kevin Smith also shared that a special effects guy he met on the sets told him that Whedon had ridiculed Snyder's version of the film time and again.
Moreover, Fisher also accused film producer Jon Berg of allegedly abetting Whedon's "unprofessional" behavior on the sets and dared the director to sue him for slander if the allegations were proved wrong. In defense, Berg said it was "categorically untrue that we enabled any unprofessional behavior," and said Fisher was upset about prompting to say the trademark Cyborg dialogue "Booyaa" on screen.
While it seemed that all is well between Snyder and Whedon, the former confirmed that is not the case by calling the 2017 release a "Frankenstein's monster." Snyder said he would "blow" his film up if a single shot of his work reminds anyone of the 2017 release. He added that his version belongs to the fantasized 'Elseworld' format of DC.
To note, Warner Bros. is funding Snyder's version of the film, which has already hogged the limelight for Superman's black suit. The film, heavily campaigned by DC fans globally, is scheduled to release in 2021 on streaming platform HBO Max.
