The mood in the Warner Bros. marketing and press department probably isn’t too good at the moment. The past week has seen the upcoming “Justice League” face a string of rumors, including reports of an effort to lighten the mood and suggestions that an early cut was “unwatchable,” all of which is not to mention Ben Affleck noting that both Zack Snyder and his replacement Joss Whedon are bringing their own distinct visions to the blockbuster. We already know the reshoots are extensive and expensive, costing the studio at least $25 million, and there’s no doubt that the movie is getting a huge overhaul. Well, it seems there’s more being changed.
Slashfilm is the latest to weigh in, revealing on their podcast last week, that the water cooler talk they’re hearing is that the original ending of “Justice League” is being scrapped.
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Way back in the day, the initial plan was to make a two-part “Justice League” movie, with Darkseid to arrive at the end of the first film as a cliffhanger to set up the second chapter. Well, that’s all changed, and reportedly, Steppenwolf will be the main villain, with Robin Wright’s Antiope being brought in to flesh out the baddie’s backstory. As for the climax, it’s apparently far more definitive, and won’t be setting up another instalment.
It’s yet another reworking to the movie that went into production shortly after “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” opened and seems to have adjusted on the fly to the changing mandate sent down by Geoff Johns for more “heart, humor, and heroics.”
Whether or not this coheres into a singular vision is the hurdle “Justice League” and its makers need to clear, and we’ll see how that goes when it opens on November 17th.