Fans have been eagerly searching for signs that Justice League is still a Zack Snyder film. Now it seems we have what equates to an official confirmation. Justice League has only one credited director and his name is Zack Snyder. This news has been confirmed on both the official poster and the website for the film.
This falls in line with reports from the studio and other individuals involved with the film that Joss Whedon’s changes to the direction of the movie were minimal. Everyone including stars Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck have shared opinions on who is responsible for the direction of the film. Gadot suggested that it is still Snyder’s movie while Ben Affleck has pointed to an amalgamation of ideas from both directors.
Rumours have been circulating since Whedon took over that his changes would be substantial with some even suggesting that the entire third act of the movie had been altered. This news seems to put those reports in doubt.
However, it is worth pointing out that Whedon has remained mainly silent throughout the change of direction, perhaps letting his work speak for itself. It’s quite possible that he simply did not want the director credit. As well as this, we should consider whether the DGA’s rules would have allowed him to receive the credit at all. The DGA has official guidelines in place to determine who will receive the director credit for a movie and they do not allow appeals. As such, it is important to realise that this was not a decision made by Warner Bros or anyone else other than the DGA.
Will this put to rest the theories that the film has completely changed since Whedon was announced to take over? That’s unclear and the fact is we may never know how much of an input the famed director actually had in shaping the final product.
In other more predictable news, Justice League has received an official rating of PG-13. If WB does embrace an R Rating in the DCEU it will not start with start with Justice League.