Ethan Van Sciver was once one of DC Comics' most successful comic book artists but these days, he's a face of "ComicsGate", a group that mostly appears to be made up of right-wing fans who target marginalized fans and creators (essentially, they blame "forced diversity" on struggling comic book sales).
As you may have heard, DC Comics recently announced plans to lay off 3% of its workforce and 10% of the Warner Bros. Consumer Products staff as they put a renewed focus on publishing. Van Sciver blames the box office failings of Justice League for that and claims to have heard that Joss Whedon demanded a huge amount of money to finish the movie after Zack Snyder's departure.
"The Justice League movie was a catastrophic disaster for Warner Bros and for DC, for the DCEU. What happened was, it was underway with a $350 million budget under Zack Snyder...Decisions were made to have Joss Whedon come in and finish the movie. Joss Whedon didn't like what he saw, apparently, and asked for close to $300 million from what I've heard. If you have better information about this, let me known, but he basically asked for an enormous, almost equal to the original production budget to reshoot and to finish Justice League."
It makes sense that Van Sciver might have at least some insight into what happened seeing as he was working at DC Comics not too long ago and no doubt knows a number of executives who were working on the film in some capacity (he spent years pencilling Green Lantern for writer Geoff Johns, remember).
"You have to imagine what spending close to $700 million on a movie and losing hundreds of millions of dollars on a movie can do to people, can do to their jobs. Shortly after, Diane [Nelson] took a break. Diane never came back. She announced she was staying gone. Geoff Johns, I think, also took some of the blame for the Justice League movie, and he lost his position there. Others at DC have who were involved with the Justice League movie also lost their jobs, lost their positions. The effects are still rippling."
Chances are we may never know what happened behind the scenes with Justice League but it's no secret that Warner Bros. executives pushed for the movie to meet its November 2017 release date because they didn't want to miss out on their bonuses. The movie's failings are probably less of a factor than poor comic book sales but Van Sciver leaves us with plenty to think about.
For a recap of everything Zack Snyder has revealed about his
original Justice League plans, hit the "View List" button!
Justice League Was Supposed To Feature The Anti-Life Equation
WetaFX recently revealed that the massive battle they worked on for that flashback scene in Justice League was for the anti-life equation and Snyder has since hinted that Darkseid's control over that would have been what led to the seemingly evil version of Superman we saw in Batman v Superman's "Knightmare" sequence. Clearly, the filmmaker was not planning on shying away from the comic books!
Lex Luthor Murdered His Father
If you thought that Batman and Superman had problems, then those simply don't compare to Lex Luthor's daddy issues! The villain mentions his father in Batman v Superman but Snyder later revealed that he murdered Lionel Luthor years before we met him in the DCEU in order to take charge of LexCorp. That's not too different to what we saw in Smallville but this establishes Lex as truly insane.
The Real Doomsday Is Still Out There Somewhere
To say fans were disappointed with the Doomsday we got in Batman v Superman would be an understatement, especially as he didn't really resemble his comic book counterpart. However, Snyder has since said that he believes the true version of the villain is still out there somewhere, something which makes sense as the one who killed Superman was an "abomination" created by Lex Luthor.
Robin's Motorbike
Some eagle-eyed fans noticed that there was a rusted over motorbike in Batman's garage and theories immediately started doing the rounds that it could belong to Robin. Well, when Snyder was asked directly if that was the case, he confirmed that the bike was indeed the youngster's once upon a time and that proves the Caped Crusader really hasn't moved on from the tragic death of his sidekick.
He Had A Secret Voice Cameo In Batman V Superman
When a fan pointed out that one of the henchmen in Batman v Superman's "Knightmare" scenes sounds an awful lot like Snyder, and the filmmaker has since pointed out that it was indeed his voice dubbed over the actor playing him. Presumably, this was either because he wasn't happy with their performance or the director simply wanted to throw in a secret cameo appearance of some sort!
That Russian Family Was News To Snyder
Justice League storyboard artist Jay Olivia has confirmed that the Russian family was added as a result of reshoots and when Snyder - who hasn't seen the movie - was asked about them, he had literally no idea that Joss Whedon had added them and the rest of the civilians saved by the League. Apparently, the original idea was for the town to be abandoned to avoid any Man of Steel-style fan backlash.
Carrie Kelly Was Going To Suit Up As Robin
It's not clear when this would have happened but Snyder has confirmed that the plan was for Carrie Kelly to become the new Robin. She would have presumably joined the Dark Knight in that post-apocalyptic future, something it would have been a lot of fun to see. As of right now, it seems highly unlikely we'll get to see this female version of Batman's sidekick unless Matt Reeves has plans for her.
Some Big Hints About Justice League 2 Were Teased In Batman V Superman
In a very cryptic Vero post, Snyder has confirmed that the shot of three crosses in the background of the scene featuring Batman and Wonder Woman standing over a downed Superman in Batman v Superman was a reference to a scene he was planning to film for Justice League 2. Unfortunately, he hasn't elaborated on that but could it be he was planning to kill the three heroes and show their graves?
Faora Lives
In Man of Steel, Faora and her minions were sent back to the Phantom Zone. However, due to the rather vague explanation we got regarding that mysterious location in the movie, we don't know if that means they're all dead, comatose, or trapped in some sort of alternate reality. However, something that was confirmed by Sndyer is that Faora is still alive and plotting her revenge against Superman.
He Wanted To Make A Self-Contained Series Of Films
When Man of Steel was released, many studios still hadn't started obsessing about creating a shared universe so it should come as no surprise to learn that rather than attempting to launch the "DCEU," Snyder was actually hoping to create a self-contained series of movies which would have had a beginning, middle, and end. Presumably, Justice League - Part 2 would have been the conclusion.
The Mother Boxes Nearly Appeared In World War II
Snyder has revealed that he would have explored the history of the Mother Boxes in Justice League and the director has even shared some mockups of scenes which would have taken place during World War II. Leaked footage from the movie has even shown Cyborg telling the team about that and it appears as if there would have even been some scenes set in Nazi Germany. Sadly, those all ended up being cut.
That Open Pod Wasn't Supergirl's
When Snyder was asked if he had any plans for Supergirl in the DCEU, he confirmed that the open pod in that Kryptonian ship wasn't actually hers (despite a tie-in comic book released around the same time as Man of Steel claiming it was). It very much sounds like the director was planning to reveal who did escape but it's impossible to guess who that might have been and where we could have seen them.
Martha Kent And Lois Lane Had A Bigger Role In Justice League
We only see Martha Kent and Lois Lane in a single scene in Justice League when they meet at The Daily Planet. However, Snyder has since confirmed that we were supposed to see them share a conversation in Kent Farm too, an indication that Joss Whedon added that shot showing that it had been sold off during the opening credits. Chances are this extra scene was scrapped due to time constraints.
Injustice Was Very Much An Influence For Snyder
While you might think that Knightmare sequence was "just a dream," it turns out that Snyder was planning on telling a story which would have got us to that point, with Superman turning "evil" and the Justice League having to come together in a post-apocalyptic landscape to bring the Man of Steel down. Presumably, Justice League was originally going to set the stage for that in a significant way.
Henry Cavill Wore Christopher Reeve's Superman Suit
It's hard to think of anyone who would be a better Superman than Henry Cavill right now but before his costume was created, he donned the suit worn by Christopher Reeve in Superman: The Movie. While you might think that would look pretty ridiculous, it actually sold the studio on the British actor taking on a role in Man of Steel and helped Snyder establish a tone for the 2013 DC Comics adaptation.
Batman v Superman's Dead Robin Is Dick Grayson
In a shocking and unexpected twist, Snyder revealed that the defaced Robin costume we see in Batman v Superman actually belonged to Dick Grayson, not Jason Todd. That's bound to only fuel theories that The Joker we see in the DCEU was originally intended to be the former Robin, especially as there's precedent for that happening in the comics. Suicide Squad may have debunked that theory, though.
The Flash Was Supposed To Get A New Suit
Suicide Squad made it clear that Barry Allen had created his own superhero suit to fight criminals in but why was he still wearing that in Justice League after meeting billionaire Bruce Wayne? Well, it turns out that Snyder was indeed planning on giving the Scarlet Speedster a new look and he would have donned a suit enhanced by Wayne tech (likely the one we saw in that quite confusing time-travel sequence).
Mercy Graves May Have Survived That Bombing...Wait, What?
Proving that some of the questions Snyder receives on Vero are nothing short of ridiculous, one asked the filmmaker if it's possible Mercy Graves (Lex Luthor's loyal assistant) survived the bomb blast in Batman v Superman. His response? "You never know." While she may have found a way to sneak out, I highly doubt it and can't imagine the director actually had anything further planned for the villain.
No, General Swanwick Isn't Martian Manhunter In Disguise
One popular fan theory is that General Swanwick could be Martian Manhunter in disguise, keeping an eye on Superman and working in the government the same way the character does in The CW's Supergirl TV series. While Snyder has said that everyone involved with the movie loves the theory, he didn't outright confirm that was the case and that probably means he had no plans for the character.
The Cosmic Treadmill
As great as it would have been to see Snyder's vision for this series of films to play out, it sounds like things would have got really confusing as Snyder explained that The Flash used the Cosmic Treadmill in the future Batcave to communicate with Bruce in the past but was indeed too soon. Apparently, the point of that was to indicate that while Superman was a threat, something much darker was at play.
What do you think about these Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League reveals from Zack Snyder? Do you wish he'd been able to let his vision for the DCEU play out?