Earlier this week, it was revealed that Zack Snyder had decided to pass the reigns of Justice League over to Joss Whedon following the tragic death of his daughter back in March. While the filmmaker was hoping to take the helm of upcoming reshoots and oversee the post-production process, he ultimately decided he couldn’t do so and asked The Avengers director to take his place and complete the movie ahead of its November 2017 release.
Now, however, Justice League and Wonder Woman producer Charles Roven has revealed that Whedon was actually involved in the production even before Snyder decided to depart.
“We’re excited about the film, of course, but we were saddened by the events that caused Zack Snyder and Deborah Snyder to have to leave and turn the reins over to Joss Whedon. He was already working with us on some of the scenes for that additional photography that we’re going to be doing shortly. It was fortunate that Zack convinced him, and he agreed to step in and finish the movie – to help Zack finish his vision. We’re excited about that.”
This is interesting for a number of reasons. For one, it’s a sign that Whedon’s deal to direct Batgirl could have involved a larger role in the DC Extended Universe – similar to how he worked on Captain America: The First Avenger and contributed to various Phase 2 releases for Marvel aside from just the ones he directed.
Furthermore, this also tells us that Warner Bros. clearly felt they needed to turn to someone like Whedon to fix specific scenes in the movie. While Snyder was originally slated to direct them, The Avengers helmer was tasked with writing them, which means the studio didn’t go to Justice League screenwriter Chris Terrio for the job.
As with all reshoots, chances are we’ll never know just how much these alterations changed the movie, but it could be that Whedon’s involvement will have a significant effect on the final product. Will that be for the better, though? We’ll find out this November, but it’s clear that plans to change Justice League have been there for some time now, which might be further indication that it wasn’t all smooth sailing during the shoot – as has been rumored.