Justice League was notoriously slated by many DCEU enthusiasts following its release in 2017. With Joss Whedon's stamp over the initial cut, fans were relieved when Zack Snyder was given the chance to adapt his version.
In the time since its original release, allegations of misconduct have come out against Whedon, regarding his work on the DC film. The filmmaker has finally addressed these accusations in the latest issue of New York Magazine (via Vulture).
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Joss Whedon Denies Justice League Misconduct Allegations
Coming off Batman v Superman's mixed reception and an early screening of Justice League, Warner Bros. brought on Joss Whedon to help "fix" the film.
Whedon was coming off major success in the MCU with The Avengers and Age of Ultron, so the studio's decision made sense. However, Whedon claims this move was "one of the biggest regrets of his life".
They asked me to fix it, and I thought I could help.
The director felt that the cast would say lines as they were on paper (following re-writes) but, this new 'vision' didn't mend well with the crew. An unnamed crew member claims Whedon had stopped the shoot, proclaiming that he had never worked with “a ruder group of people".
Ray Fisher has been vocal about his experience with Joss Whedon. Fisher implied that the Firefly creator had cut down Cyborg's role on purpose while amending his skin colour in production.
The director clarified that he brightened up the look of the entire movie including the faces, all the while explaining why Fisher's role was cut:
[Cyborg's storyline] logically made no sense...the worst of all the characters in the film. [None Fisher's claims] were either true or merited discussing. We’re talking about a malevolent force. We’re talking about a bad actor in both senses.
Gal Gadot has also voiced her issues endured amidst working with Whedon. The Wonder Woman star claimed that the director had "threatened" her career, which Whedon has now denied.
I don’t threaten people. Who does that? English is not her first language, and I tend to be annoyingly flowery in my speech.
One particular moment highlighted involved Gadot who wanted a scene removed from the film after Whedon had filmed it. He joked that she would have to tie him to train tracks and cut the scene over his dead body - a quote that was supposedly taken out of context:
Then I was told that I had said something about her dead body and tying her to the railroad track.
Zack Snyder's 4-hour cut of Justice League was finally unveiled last year, giving many fans the experience they had hoped for. The cult director is also prepping work for his next big-budget, sci-fi project.
As for Whedon, his new TV Show, The Nevers, is expected to air new episodes on HBO Max later this year.