Visual effects technology has advanced so rapidly over the last two decades that virtually anything can be realized on the big screen and rendered completely convincingly, from entire planets located in the deepest reaches of the galaxy to whole cities being levelled in an orgy of massive scale destruction. However, as we discovered in the very first scene of Joss Whedon’s Justice League, one thing that CGI has so far failed to accomplish is the ability to convincingly remove a man’s mustache.
There was a mixture of laughter and confusion in theaters around the world during the movie’s prologue as the lower half of Henry Cavill’s face seemed to take on a mind of its own and operate independently from what his eyes were doing. It was jarring to say the least, and even with a budget of $300 million, the effects team still failed miserably in covering up the seams between Zack Snyder’s original footage and Whedon’s work.
Justice League went so massively over schedule that Paramount wouldn’t allow Cavill to go clean-shaven for the reshoots, as they required his rugged visage for an arm-reloading role in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, leading to the hilarious idea of Superman parading around the set in full costume while sporting facial hair straight out of the 1970s.
Director of photography Fabian Wagner has now revealed a new BTS image from the film, though, and based entirely on Cavill’s lack of mustache, you can guess during which stage of the shoot it was taken.
Of course, The Witcher star was quick to deny he was filming any additional footage for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which presumably means there was more than enough left on the cutting room floor to give Superman a much bigger and better story arc the second time around. And we can only hope that that’s exactly what the director has in store for him.
