Warner Bros. reportedly wanted to get Zack Snyder out of Justice League after the 2016 release Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice bombed at the box office. However, they decided against it to avoid giving the public the hint of any trouble brewing between them.
The DC Extended Universe’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, led by Zack Snyder hit the theaters in 2016. It was a sequel to Snyder’s 2013 release, Man of Steel. Even though DCEU later went on to expand its franchise further with Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, and David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, all hope was pinned on Justice League.
Justice League was received with great criticism and less than satisfactory performance at the box office. The reason for Justice League’s dismal show is mainly due to the conflicting ideas of Snyder and Joss Whedon, who took over after Snyder left, following a personal tragedy (his daughter Autumn Snyder’s suicide).
According to The Wrap, several studio executives had advised Warner Bros. president Greg Silverman to dismiss Snyder after the release of Batman V Superman. However, Silverman thought it would probably give public the impression that all’s not well in the DCEU. Though Snyder continued to direct the film until he decided to step down later, Jon Berg (DC Films co-president) overlooked and monitored the film’s budget for many months.
One of The Wrap‘s sources is quoted to have said, “They were already in deep prep on Justice League and it would have cost a fortune. There’s stickiness to a director because there’s so much cost to unstick him. Warners is a studio that almost to a fault always wants to project strength.”
Devin Faraci had reported way back in April/May 2016 on Birth.Movies.Death of the fights between Snyder and the WB executives. He had written, “The WB execs have found themselves at odds with Snyder over his vision for Justice League and the DC movieverse going forward. Of course Justice League was scheduled to start shooting mere days after BvS was released, which meant WB couldn’t take any definitive action – like removing Snyder or delaying the movie to make changes – without poisoning the box office for BvS”.
What do you think is the reason behind the not-so-good box office performance of Justice League? Tell us in the comment box below.
Source: The Wrap/Birth.Movies.Death
