According to a report from THR Zack Snyder is stepping down as director of Justice League during the post-production and re-shoot phase of the film. For the remaining post production and re-shoot portion of the film, Avengers and Batgirl Director Joss Whedon will take over as Director. In March of this year Snyder’s daughter committed suicide and he is stepping down to take time for his family. Snyder said
“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. 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. 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”
Warner Bros has been very supportive of Snyder’s decision, following a screening of the film, Snyder added some scenes to the narrative, Whedon has been brought in to write these scenes, but there is not expected to be a major change in tone to the film.
Warner Bros. president Toby Emmerich stated:
“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 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.”
Let’s all keep the Snyder family in our thoughts and prayers.