Director Zack Snyder and producer Deborah Snyder have stepped down from finishing the Justice League reshoots and post-production after the death of the director’s daughter from his previous marriage. Joss Whedon will bring his Avengers-directing talents to the project to finish the movie. It is still set for release on November 17, 2017.
Zack Snyder’s 20-year-old daughter, Autumn, committed suicide in March. It was only revealed when Snyder publicly announced that he would step down from production to be with his family.
“In my mind, I thought it was a cathartic thing to go back to work, to just bury myself and see if that was way through it,” Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter. “The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all-consuming. And in the last two months I’ve come to the realization…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.”
Warner Bros. had wanted to delay the movie’s release, but Zack and Deborah Snyder agreed that filming should continue to keep the premiere date. Whedon had already been brought in to write additional scenes that Snyder wanted to add through reshoots. With Snyder stepping back, Whedon will take over the project.
Snyder said that he hadn’t planned on making the news public, but wanted to stop an rumors that problems were occurring with Warner Bros.
“Here’s the thing, I never planned to make this public. I thought it would just be in the family, a private matter, our private sorrow that we would deal with,” Snyder said. “When it became obvious that I need to take break, I knew there would be narratives created on the internet. They’ll do what they do. The truth it…I’m past caring about that kind of thing now. I want the movie to be amazing and I’m a fan, but that all pales pretty quickly in comparison. 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.”
