You can pull out box office numbers, and point to a very vocal and supportive fan base, but there’s little debate that from the PR point of view, DC Films had a terrible 2016. Both “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” and “Suicide Squad” were kicked around by critics, and the latter went through extensive reshoots, and an editing process that saw the studio and director David Ayer mashup their cuts into an incoherent whole. So, it’s not a big surprise that DC Films is drawing more scrutiny to their projects as the stakes continue to be raised; they need to deliver films that are beloved by audiences and critics, no matter how many dollars they bring in. It’s the only way the franchise has long term viability. And while “Wonder Woman” is an unqualified success, there is far more expectation on this fall’s “Justice League,” which of course, means there’s no shortage of chatter about whether or not it’s in trouble.
Rumors that the film might be a mess have been kicking around, but are picking up steam now that the reshoots are underway with Joss Whedon behind the camera, taking over from Zack Snyder who is grieving the tragic loss of his daughter. And depending on who you ask, “Justice League” is being significantly retooled, or the new material being filmed is simply standard operating for the procedure.
On the side of “Justice League” being overhauled is Batman On Film, who had the following to say in a recent story:
I have been told by a 100% vetted and more-than-reliable source that re-shoots on JUSTICE LEAGUE have commenced in London under the helm of Joss Whedon and that they will be “significant.” So much so, that these reshoots are expected to take place through June and July, and maybe into August. They are NOT your “standard” pick-ups….
….Also, my source tells me that despite how this might look, he’s pretty optimistic that these re-shoots (though, I don’t know if that’s the correct noun – “additional photography” is probably more appropriate) are a positive in terms of making the best film possible.
Following up a few days later, Forbes had a rather longwinded response, but essentially, they say the sky isn’t falling on “Justice League”:
During principal photography, sometimes things were reshot, as happens on every movie. But these were not major reshoots designed to change the entire film or throwing away big blocks of the movie and replacing them with entirely new things. I was in London, I walked around sound stages full of sets and props, I saw the concept art, I’ve talked with the filmmakers and others involved in this production many times, and I assure you they weren’t making this movie on the fly, they weren’t handing in new pages all throughout the production, and they weren’t remaking the movie as they went along. Sets are expensive, location shooting is expensive, and they couldn’t have built all of these things and flown around the world filming in various places while also changing the movie with constant rewrites and reshoots. It’s just not a realistic perception of how a film like this gets made or what went on during this production.
Anyway, continuing our story — in early 2017 after principal photography was completed, Zack Snyder began editing the film together and decided he needed some additional scenes. Joss Whedon was contacted about writing the scenes, and agreed to do it. These are new scenes, and they comprise the bulk of filming being done this Summer. Due to their heartbreaking family tragedy, the Snyders had to step away from Justice League, and Whedon was asked to step in to film the extra scenes he wrote and to do a final edit on the film.
In addition to the new scenes he’s filming, Whedon will also do some pickups and reshoots typical of any film of this size — it is tiring to have to constantly point out that every film like this includes scheduling for presumed reshoots that inevitably become necessary after principal photography ends, and every time it happens the press and fans react like it’s a major surprise or signals some problem when it doesn’t. It almost always happens, and there are almost always folks who misinterpret it or who say it’s more extensive and meaningful than it necessarily is….
….The expected time frame for the additional photography is about eight weeks or less, and what I heard was closer to perhaps seven weeks — so, not up to three months, but somewhat close at least to the portion of the rumors saying “two months” of filming (not all reshoots, though).
So, pick a side, hit up the comments section, and let us know what you think. “Justice League” opens on November 17th.