The common narrative is that Warner Bros., upon seeing the blowback from “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” started pivoting to toward a lighter tone for their superhero franchise. Even DC Films honcho Geoff Johns declared the films needed more “heart, humor, and heroics” and said that the goal was to “make the movies fun.” However, one is beginning to wonder if anybody involved with these movies even knows what they want.
“Justice League” opens with Batman taking down a criminal, played by “Mindhunter” star Holt McCallany. The whole scene mostly exists for Batman to discover a parademon, and set the plot wheels in motion. While there are a couple of quips during the sequence, it’s mostly a straight-laced and pretty forgettable action scene. However, according to McCallany, it was originally much funnier.
“I love Joss Whedon. My scene with Batman was originally conceived as a comedic scene. That’s how Joss wrote it, and that’s how we shot it,” he told Men’s Fitness (via Collider). “I thought it came out great, but the studio felt it would be a mistake to open the film with a completely comedic scene, so it was re-edited a little bit. I was disappointed, but when I got home to New York I found a bottle of my favorite champagne and a note from Joss that said ‘To Battles Lost. Gratefully, Joss.’ I can’t tell you how much it meant to me that he took the time to write to me. Joss Whedon is a class act. I had the letter framed.”
So, to put this in perspective, WB hired Whedon to write new scenes for the reshoots, because of his trademark ability to bring a breezier touch to geek fare. However, it seems they didn’t want him to go full Whedon. Honestly, it’s really beginning to sound like “Justice League” was micromanaged to death, and it’s not a shock that neither Snyder or Whedon really left their fingerprints on the finished film.
There’s surely more to be revealed about the post-production madness of “Justice League,” but it really seems like there too many cooks in the kitchen, and no chef to get them all in the line.