Some very sad news this evening, as Zack Snyder has announced that he is stepping down from Warner Bros.’ upcoming superhero blockbuster Justice League following the death of his daughter Autumn Snyder. Joss Whedon, director of Marvel’s The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, it set to finish the film ahead of its November release date.
THR is reporting that Autumn committed suicide in March, and although the filmmaker was initially keen to return to work following a two-week break on the production, he and his wife and producing partner Deborah Snyder have now decided to step away in order to deal with the immediate effects of the tragedy.
“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,” said Snyder. “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.”
“Here’s the thing, I never planned to make this public,” he continued. “I thought it would just be in the family, a private matter, our private sorrow that we would deal with. When it became obvious that I need to take break, I knew there would be narratives created on the internet. They’ll do what they do. The truth it…I’m past caring about that kind of thing now. I want the movie to be amazing and I’m a fan, but that all pales pretty quickly in comparison. I know the fans are going to be worried about the movie but there are seven other kids that need me. In the end, it’s just a movie. It’s a great movie. But it’s just a movie.”
Following the screening of a rough cut of the film, Snyder had planned to shoot additional scenes, bringing in The Avengers director Joss Whedon to write them. Whedon will now direct the reshoots in England.
“The directing is minimal and it has to adhere to the style and tone and the template that Zack set,” said Warner Bros. Pictures president Toby 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.”
Our condolences to Zack Snyder and his family at this very sad time.
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.
Justice League will reunite Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jason Mamoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta alongside J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) as Commissioner Gordon, Amber Heard (The Danish Girl) as Mera, Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) as Vulko, Kiersey Clemons (Dope) as Iris West, Ciaran Hinds (Game of Thrones) as Steppenwolf, and Julian Lewis Jones (Stella) and Michael McElhatton (Game of Thrones) in as-yet-unrevealed roles.