Forget The Rumors: Joss Whedon Is Still Directing ‘Batgirl’

Man, things have gotten real ugly over in the land of the DCEU and Batgirl is caught in the crosshairs. It’s worse than any self-lacerating post-mortems made in the aftermath of horrifying election results, this is a lot of finger pointing and fans on the same team ripping each other apart like starving rats. “Justice League” has arrived and it’s been met with mixed results at best. In fact, the DCEU superhero team-up movie has already lost its second week in release. When the final tally arrives tomorrow, you’ll see that Pixar’s “Coco” bested it at the box-office this weekend (this is not a good sign for a big blockbuster or its longtail prospects).

READ MORE: Joss Whedon’s ‘Batgirl’ And The Lie Of The One-Size-Fits-All Cinematic Universe Model

Livid fans, disappointed in the results, are looking at where to focus their ire. And while some of the frustration is aimed at Warner Bros., the studio on the film, almost none of the wrath seems directed at filmmaker Zack Snyder. Instead, feeling a lot of the blowback is the man hired to finish the film for him: Joss Whedon, the director behind “The Avengers,” and “Avengers: Age Of Ultron” (Snyder left the project after a family tragedy earlier this year that forced him to drop out of post-production on the film and its reshoots).

In the aftershock of “Justice League,” its disappointment and the call for Whedon to be strung up by his toes in some circles, rumors surfaced that the ‘Avengers’ helmer had been pulled off the “Batgirl” movie he’s developing to write and direct. The post, which has been conveniently deleted, once said the perceived Justice League failings—compounded with the very public issues with his ex-wife that surfaced this summer—led Warner Bros. to take Whedon off the “Batgirl” movie.

READ MORE: Fans Petition For Release Of Zack Snyder’s Cut Of ‘Justice League’

Nonsense, says EW who have talked to sources at WB and DC Films who have said, sorry, Joss Whedon is still developing “Batgirl” for himself and working on it as we speak. There’s a lot of tension going on at WB and DC Films and it’s apparently spilling over into its directors. Whedon was “caught” liking a post on Twitter slamming the movie’s (genuinely awful) villain Steppenwolf, a character he obviously didn’t create. Snyder, meanwhile, has been seen favoring a Vero post (his social media platform of choice) linking back to the petition asking for Warner Bros. to release his cut of “Justice League.” It’s all getting passive-aggressively petty and the fans, already looking to place blame, are keeping score.

Will further stories seep out? Whedon and Snyder were both noticeably absent from the “Justice League” world premiere screenings and conducted no press interviews. You can bet this was studio mandated: they probably don’t want journalists or fans picking apart who directed what and whose scenes are whose. Is there beef growing between the filmmakers? That feels like a long shot at the moment, but at least two things are clear: Joss Whedon is still directing “Batgirl” for now and fans, right or wrong, are not happy with the filmmaker. Some would love to just see him move on. Stay tuned for further developments and what surfaces next.

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