“Justice League” has been in cinemas for a couple of weeks now, but the future of DC Films remains uncertain. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The superhero team-up film was supposed to be an anchor around which Warner Bros. and DC Films could expand their comic book universe. Instead, the production was yet another messy, critically maligned misfire from a franchise that is still struggling to define itself. So, what wrong?
According to The Wrap, “Justice League” was a perfect storm of problems, and fingers can be pointed in many directions. Firstly, there’s Warner Bros. executive Greg Silverman, whose support of Zack Snyder is described as being “laissez faire,” to the point where he didn’t even offer script notes to the director. That kind of freedom is fine when you have someone like Christopher Nolan hitting superhero home runs like “The Dark Knight” trilogy, but it becomes a problem when “Man Of Steel” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” started damaging the DC brand.
Silverman not only was hands off with Snyder, he was fiercely protective of studio’s public image, making for a poor mix. After ‘Batman v Superman’ missed the mark, there were calls inside the halls of Warner Bros. for Snyder to be removed from “Justice League,” and while Silverman was “quite harsh on Zack” at that point, he didn’t fire him. The studio kept Snyder on board, and part of the reason for this was to maintain an image that everything was under control, and they knew what they were doing.
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This attitude of keeping a stiff upper lip became literally realized when it came to the actual upper lip of Henry Cavill. Much has been made of the digital (and awkward) removal of Cavill’s mustache from his reshoot scenes. Had the visual effects department had more time, they could’ve done a better job, but Warner Bros. stuck firmly with their release date, but in addition to keeping up appearances, there were more personal, financial stakes on the line for honchos Kevin Tsujihara and Toby Emmerich.
“… If they pushed the movie, then their bonuses would have been pushed to the following year and they might not still be at the studio,” an insider told the trade.
Indeed, part of the problem looming over all this is boring business stuff, with AT&T‘s acquisition and valuation of Warner Bros. weighing on the decision-making process. Essentially, pushing “Justice League,” a key movie asset, might not have been a good look for Warner Bros. So the release date stuck, and everything was rushed to make the movie happen, come hell or high water.
As one insider notes, shortly after Snyder approved of Joss Whedon to come in and help lighten up the tone, “It stopped being a good situation on any level.” Snyder’s daughter tragically committed suicide, and Snyder, who initially looked to the film as a “refuge” from the pain his family was going through, eventually stepped down. This was the point when many felt the release date should’ve been pushed, but the studio pressed on with Whedon.
The result is a movie that’s neither Snyder or Whedon’s, and puts another ugly mark on the DC Films brand. Snyder is no longer involved with Warner Bros. superhero movies, but remains at the studio developing the war drama “The Last Photograph.” Whedon is said to still be working on “Batgirl.” But who will finally steer the DC Films ship into sunnier waters? For now, it’s unclear.