A lot of us have a lot of things to say about Zack Snyder. Some are diehard fanboys while others would like to stone him to death after the whole “Martha” nonsense in Batman V Superman (to be fair it wasn’t his fault, it was the screenwriters’). But now isn’t the time for that. And this isn’t that sorta article.
Zack Snyder, who is one of the biggest filmmakers in the comic book genre, has decided to step away from the upcoming Justice League movie to deal with the sudden death of his daughter. Autumn Snyder took her own life in March at the age of 20, an incident that has been largely kept a secret for the past couple of months. Zack Snyder’s wife, Deborah who is a producer on Justice League is also taking a step back to focus on mourning and healing with their family.
So what’s gonna happen to Justice League?
The filming has mostly wrapped up already, besides a few more additional scenes that need to be added on. Step in JOSS WHEDON. Whedon, who is regarded by many as the granddaddy of geekdom – The Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer – will guide the movie through its post-production stages as well as the additional shooting. Justice League is still set to be released on November 17.
Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter that he was initially very eager to get back to work and get through the tough time by focusing on Justice League.
In my mind, I thought it was a cathartic thing to go back to work, to just bury myself and see if that was the way through it. The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all-consuming. And in the last two months, I’ve come to the realisation … 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.
And for those of you who are wondering (and maybe hoping) if this film is going to have Joss Whedon’s thumbprints on it, the answer is no, according to Warner Bros. Pictures president, Toby Emmerich.
The directing is minimal and it has to adhere to the style and tone and the template that Zack set. We’re not introducing any new characters. It’s the same characters in some new scenes. He’s handing the 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 hearts go out to Zack Snyder and his family. Rest in Peace Autumn Snyder.
