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Last night (Monday 22nd May 2017) Zack Snyder announced he will be stepping down as director of Justice League due to a family tragedy.
Snyder had been working on the mega DC superhero team up for over a year and was in the middle of post-production, but talking to The Hollywood Reporter decided it was the right time for him and his producer wife, Deborah to step away to be with their family to grieve and heal together.
It was tragically revealed that Snyder’s daughter Autumn died by suicide in March at the age of 20.
Only a handful of people in their inner circle knew and Zack and Deborah even took a two-week break to deal with the initial effects of their tragedy.
Zack even said himself he was initially eager to return to filming and continue working.
“In my mind, I thought it was a cathartic thing to go back to work, to just bury myself and see if that was the way through it,” explained an emotional Snyder.
However, as time went on and the demands and pressures of helming something as massive as this film, Snyder came to realise there are more important things than a film.
“The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all-consuming. And in the last two months, I’ve come to the realisation… 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.
“I want the movie to be amazing, and I’m a fan, but that all pales pretty quickly in comparison,” he says. “I know the fans are going to be worried about the movie, but there are seven other kids that need me. In the end, it’s just a movie, it’s a great movie. But it’s just a movie.”
Warner Bros are fully behind the Man of Steel director and even offered to push back the release date (which the Snyder’s declined) and have extended Snyder’s first look deal with them. This will give him time to work on other planned projects whenever he feels ready to return to work.
WB’s president Toby Emmerich released a statement supporting the Snyder’s saying “What they are going through is unimaginable, and my heart – our hearts – go out to them.”
What about Justice League? I know this isn’t important, but after Snyder screened a rough cut, to a few filmmakers and friends, he wanted to add some additional scenes and brought in Joss Whedon (director of the upcoming DC Film Batgirl) to write them.
Before coming back to England to film, Zack knew this isn’t the right time to leave home. So Whedon has now been brought in to shepherd in the filming of the additional scenes and help the movie make the November 17 release date.
Even with Whedon coming in, Emmerich stressed this is still very much Snyder’s film “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 the 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.”
I can say for plenty of us who believe he hasn’t made a miss step with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman aren’t worried about Justice League, as we know it’s going to be incredible. At the end of the day, I think as film fans and as a community family come first and we would’ve waited to see your Justice League.
— Batman-News.com (@BatmanNewsCom) 23 May 2017
As he said, “It’s just a movie” and his kids need him more, but I hope he’ll know there is a fanbase sending him and Deborah nothing but love and support during this awful time.
I hope we’ll see him during the Justice League premieres so the fans can show him how much support there is in the fan/DCEU community and that his Justice League is one of the greatest superhero films ever made.
This also highlights, if you're ever having suicidal feelings or that you feel alone in this massive world, you’re not and there are people who want to help you.
In the UK please call Samaritans on 116 123 and they’re open 24/7. If you’re reading this in the US and need someone to talk to please call 1-800-273-8255.
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