Batman v Superman did not have an easy critical ride, and the film's failure to reach the billion dollar mark was seen as a disappointment by Warner Bros. After the film underperformed in theatres rumours were rampant about a creative shake-up at WB and DC, which was only furthered when Ben Affleck was promoted to executive producer for Justice League, and Geoff Johns taking a more active role in DC films going forward. Despite all of this, director Zack Snyder says he's not feeling any pressure when he was asked about corporate expectations from WB. "I don't think so. I would just say that, for me, Batman v Superman, I think there is a slight misconception about the shooting, anyway, about how much pressure there was on us and the pressure on the movie to perform in a certain way. From my point of view, and maybe just because I don't know how to do it any other way, we make really personal movies. For me, anyway, I love the characters. I love comic books -- maybe to a fault sometimes. Like, I dork out on these hardcore aspects of the comic books, because I'm a grown-up and I love that part of it."
Snyder also reiterated that Justice League is meant to serve as a natural progression from Batman v Superman, and that the former film was always planned as a bridge between Man Of Steel and Justice League, as opposed to a corporately mandated film to rival other productions such as the Avengers. "I had a great time making the movie, and I don't think that Warner Bros., when we were shooting the movie, that there was some sort of corporate mandate to get Batman and Superman in the movie," he explained. "Chris [Terrio] and I kind of had that idea, and then it just so happened that that was a way toward Justice League -- and it came along at a great time for us, as the studio was moving forward with the other DC titles and getting the DCU to exist. But I don't think the birth of Batman v Superman was like some corporate conspiracy to sell tickets, or do whatever. I think it just became this great vehicle that had a lot of focus put on it because of where it ended up in the timeline, you know?"
Justice League releases November 17, 2016.