2017’s Justice League ended up being the most controversial entry in the DCEU franchise kickstarted by Warner Bros. in hopes of catching up with the MCU. In a recent interview, Cyborg actor Ray Fisher revealed that Joss Whedon, who was brought in to finish filming Justice League after Zack Snyder’s exit from the project, brought a certain amount of emotional baggage to sets.
“Joss brought a lot of his personal and professional, for lack of a better term, resentment into the Justice League process. One of the things he had said in our first conversation was that people didn’t “get” [Whedon’s previous superhero movie Avengers: Age of Ultron]. There were certain things that were said in that conversation where I said, ‘Oh, this is less about the work being presented and more of a sort of ego stroke.’ To say, ‘If you like it in this movie, you should have liked it in that one. Haha joke’s on you.’ Right? That’s where just creatively, you know? It has nothing to do with the really egregious stuff.”
The making of Justice League in 2017 was a highly-troubled affair. Filmmaker Kevin James had revealed during a podcast that he had spoken with certain members of the crew working on the project, and they had told him that Whedon’s attitude to taking over Snyder’s passion project was dismissive.
“Remember when I went to the Skywalker set, some people had worked on both versions of Solo and both versions of Justice League. The special effects guy said there was a fair amount of trashing Zack’s version of the movie on set by Joss… that [Whedon] would cut down, dismiss, and be negative about Zack’s version, which he had seen and all these people had made together without him.”
Warner recently launched an official investigation into matters surrounding Whedon’s behavior on set. Fisher took the lead in insisting that the studio look into what had transpired during the time, and punishing the guilty parties involved. Recently the investigation was completed, and Fisher tweeted his satisfaction with the process.
“Over 80 people were interviewed for @WarnerMedia’s Justice League investigation. A fair, thorough, and protected process for witnesses was the first (and most important) step. Ensuring that action is taken is the next. Thank you to all who lent their voice! A>E”
The first steps towards resolving the grievances of Fisher and the rest of the cast and crew of Justice League appear to have already been taken, with Joss Whedon exiting the HBO series The Nevers as showrunner.
Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ciar&án Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. Zack Snyder’s Justice League will premiere exclusively on HBO Max in March 2021.