Citing a family tragedy, Zack Snyder is stepping down from directing the Justice League movie.
Joss Whedon will be taking over as director of Justice League.
“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,” says an emotional Snyder in an interview Monday in his office on the Warner Bros. lot with Deborah sitting by his side. “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.”
WB commented on Snyder’s departure as well:
“What they are going through is unimaginable, and my heart — our hearts — go out to them, says Warner Bros. Pictures president Toby Emmerich.
The article notes Zack Snyder turned down an offer to delay the release of Justice League, which is currently in post-production and still is planned to be released on November 17th.
The article further notes Snyder brought in Whedon to write additional scenes for Justice League, which will be shot and directed by Whedon in England.
“The directing is minimal and it has to adhere to the style and tone and the template that Zack set,” says Emmerich. “We’re not introducing any new characters. It’s the same characters in some new scenes. He’s handing a baton to Joss but the course has really been set by Zack. I still believe that despite this tragedy, we’ll still end up with a great movie.”
Josh Whedon was recently brought into the DCEU for the Batgirl movie, of which is is writing and directing. Whedon also directed the Avengers movie for Marvel Studios.
“Justice League” stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon and Willem Dafoe an Atlantean, Nuidis Vulko.
Synopsis:
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
