The full course of the DC Extended Universe may not have been charted yet when
Zack Snyder was first hired to direct
Man of Steel (some people would say that plan still hasn’t developed today) but that modern cinematic take on the Last Son of Krypton ultimately ended up serving as a springboard for the entirety of the DCEU. Snyder returned for
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, in which he sowed the seeds of a full blown DC movie universe. He also served as a producer for
Suicide Squad (and even shot the Flash cameo for director David Ayer) and also got story and producer credits on
Wonder Woman and also served as director on
Justice League – at least initially.
While every movie but
Wonder Woman was met with severe backlash, Snyder’s work in getting the DCEU off the ground is undeniable, and with the franchise’s first four films
bringing in over $3 billion of revenue for Warner Bros., it’s hard to say his vision has been anything but successful. Divisive? Sure. Polarizing? Definitely. But, nonetheless, very successful. Tragically, Snyder’s family was rocked by the terrible news of the death of his daughter during the production of
Justice League, leaving the director to hand the movie off to
Avengers director Joss Whedon (whom Snyder had already recruited to
write some additional dialogue) so he could spend some much needed time with family.
Due to the nature of news surrounding the DCEU, the negativity that tends to be leveled at Snyder’s contributions, and the fact that he’s been replaced by Joss Whedon – very much Snyder’s mirror image in many respects – has raised the question of whether or not Warner Bros. is using Snyder’s exit to pivot the entire universe away from the vision he helped conceive to something more in-line with Marvel – a universe Whedon also helped build. Repeated rumors over the
true extent of the reshoots only fan the flames, and
Joss Whedon bringing in Danny Elfman to replace Junkie XL, the composer Snyder had selected for the project, seemed to be clear writing on the wall.
Now, a new report from
Mashable purports that Zack Snyder’s role in the DCEU
won’t be ramping back up after Justice League, and his future involvement with the franchise is going to be significantly diminished, seemingly confirming – at least for some – that Snyder’s influence on
Justice League has been totally usurped as Geoff Johns and Joss Whedon take the franchise in a fresh direction free of Snyder’s polarizing aesthetic, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
WARNER BROS. CAN’T LIMIT SNYDER’S INVOLVEMENT
While it’s not a typical topic of conversation in the film community, the
recent firing of Lord and Miller from the Han Solo Star Wars spin-off movie and Snyder’s decision to step down from
Justice League have both led to lots of recent discussion over the creative rights of directors per the Directors Guild of America. You can
view the full rights of the director here, but we have included some relevant points below:
- If you have directed 100% of the scheduled principal photography, you have the right to direct any additional scenes and retakes, subject only to your availability. If unavailable, you must be allowed to consult with the person who directs this photography. (7-1001)
- The Producer must allow you to be present at all times and be consulted throughout the entire post-production period. You must have a reasonable opportunity to discuss the last version of the film before negative cutting or dubbing, whichever is first. (7-506)
- The Director shall be responsible for the presentation of his or her cut of the motion picture (herein referred to as the “Director’s Cut”) and it is understood that his or her assignment is not complete until he or she has presented the Director’s Cut to the Employer, subject to the terms and conditions of this BA, as soon as possible within the time period hereinafter provided for.Subject to Paragraph 7-505(g)(2), no one other than the Director may supervise the editing of the first cut of the film following completion of the editor’s assembly, but if the Director refuses to, or due to incapacity, cannot supervise the first cut, the Employer may assign another person to edit the film. Within one (1) day following such an assignment, the Employer shall send the Guild written notice thereof. 7-501
- The Producer may not use the company’s scheduling authority or the post-production locale to undermine your creative rights. (7-506, 7-512)
In the case of Lord and Miller, they were
replaced with 3 weeks of shooting to go, meaning
they didn’t complete the requisite 100% of principal photography mentioned above, so the situation with Han Solo is completely different from
Justice League, since Zack Snyder did complete 100% of principal photography. As such, there are several things he’s entitled to per the above. To summarize in plain English, Zack Snyder has rights to: 1- consultation with Joss Whedon over reshoots, 2- post production creative rights, 3- a director’s cut and supervision of editing, and 4- these rights cannot be impeded or impaired in any way.
So, despite Snyder opting to have Joss Whedon step in to complete additional photography, he has not compromised any of these guaranteed rights since he completed 100% of principal photography prior to taking time off. For all intents and purposes, at least on paper, Zack Snyder still has just as much control over
Justice League as he’s ever had and could exercise it when he wants. The question is whether or not that’s a power he intends to wield.
lol whatever you say
and bringing in Danny Elfman lets you know WB is giving him some creative freedom
Just give me a dope movie don't really give a damn who directs it or gets the credit at this point.
it was news a year or two ago. There was an official announcement and everything
