DC’s Justice League movie has left a somewhat mixed legacy on superhero franchises and Hollywood itself.
After director Joss Whedon took over the role from Zack Snyder amid a family tragedy, Whedon’s 2017 theatrical release received a resounding “meh” from critics. We’ve since gotten a release of the film that stays true to Snyder’s original vision, known as 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
A studio releasing two drastically different versions of the same film four years apart may have been unprecedented before our current pandemic era, with COVID-19 taking such a financial toll on the movie industry that companies have turned to streaming to make up for some of that lost revenue. That’s likely what contributed to the Justice League rerelease on HBO Max, along with a long-held online campaign of Snyder fans demanding to release his cut of the film.
Since then, many Justice League actors have expressed their loyalty to Snyder, saying Whedon’s handling of being in charge on set was problematic, among other problems.
Whedon was previously accused by Cyborg actor Ray Fisher of engaging in abusive conduct on set last year. Wonder Woman‘s Gal Gadot has also spoken out about how she stood up to Whedon when he was abusive to her on set.
As TheDirect reports, Gadot previously stated back in May 2021 that Whedon made abusive remarks to her on set and threatened her career if she did a certain thing. But rather than cower from the threat, Gadot reportedly took her issue to the heads of Warner Bros. right when it happened.
“Oh, I was shaking trees as soon as it happened. And I must say that the heads of Warner Brothers, they took care of it…. Going back to the sense of righteousness that I have… you’re dizzy because you can’t believe this was just said to you. And if he says it to me, then obviously he says it to many other people. I just did what I felt like I had to do. And it was to tell people that it’s not okay.”
Gadot added that she isn’t sure whether he was being sexist to her specifically, or if he would’ve made a similar threat to a man. But she said her “sense of justice” guided her to speak out about it. Nonetheless, it’s clear Joss Whedon’s cut for Justice League stands in the shadow of its director’s behavior.