Warner Bros.’ mismanagement of Justice League will go down in movie history. Their interference resulted in the universally maligned theatrical cut, which failed at the box office and now only looks worse in comparison to the awesome Snyder Cut. The main person we have to thank for illuminating what went on behind the scenes is Cyborg actor Ray Fisher, who’s risked career damage by speaking out on how the cast was treated.
Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter has just posted a lengthy interview with Fisher that walks us through the situation. The article – which Masters has said on Twitter that Warner Bros. absolutely did not want published – lays bare a litany of terrible behaviour, with Joss Whedon and Geoff Johns coming under particular fire.
One disturbing allegation relates to Gal Gadot, specifically claiming she had many issues with the way Whedon altered her character. Sources say she objected to having to recite such terrible dialogue, with a witness describing what happened next as so:
“Joss was bragging that he’s had it out with Gal. He told her he’s the writer and she’s going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie.”
This also ties in with claims about the contentious scene that Whedon inserted in which Ezra Miller’s Flash ends up face-planting onto Wonder Woman and placing his face on her breasts. Gadot point blank refused to film this and retreated to her trailer, with her stunt double following suit. Whedon then reportedly threatened the stunt performer’s career, effectively forcing her to do it and creating one of the worst moments in an already dire movie.
I’d highly recommend reading the full article, as it contains some eye-opening stuff, specifically in the ways Whedon and Johns dismissed Fisher’s concerns about whether their version of Cyborg leaned into racial stereotypes. The silver lining is that Whedon’s career now appears to be dead, which is the very least that should be happening after the recent spate of news concerning his behavior over the years.
Also, thanks to the excellent Zack Snyder’s Justice League, we can see that all this was indeed worth fighting over. We need to value actors like Ray Fisher, too, as were it not for him stepping up, this would’ve definitely been swept under the rug.
