'Justice League' Is An 'Interesting Product' Of Two Very Different Directors Says Ben Affleck
Frenzied reports of the goings-on of the Justice League reshoots have DC Extended Universe fans concerned that this spells Doomsday for massive superhero team-up movie. But Justice League star and Caped Crusader himself, Ben Affleck, is swooping in to save the day and say, don't worry. Um...we think?
Affleck commented on the upcoming Justice League movie, which was directed by Zack Snyder before he left due to family tragedy. Former Marvel Studios favorite Joss Whedon, who had recently jumped across the aisle to direct Batgirl, stepped in to handle reshoots. The two-director situation is unusual, but shouldn't have fans too worried, Affleck said, diplomatically calling Justice League "an interesting product of two directors." Interesting.
Affleck talked to Entertainment Weekly about Warner Bros.' anticipated superhero movie. As a filmmaker himself, having won an Academy Award for the taut '70s thriller Argo, Affleck said the situation is "unorthodox" but the two differing visions of both directors will make a movie that people will watch:
"It's a little bit unorthodox. Zack had a family tragedy, and stepped off, which was horrible. For the movie, the best person we could've possibly found was Joss. We got really lucky that he stepped in. [Justice League is] an interesting product of two directors, both with kind of unique visions, both with really strong takes. I've never had that experience before making a movie. I have to say, I really love working with Zack, and I really love the stuff we've done with Joss."
It's a pretty basic non-answer. "Interesting" is as loaded a term as you can get, with both positive and negative connotations. And saying that the two directors both have "unique" visions doesn't mean those visions will mesh. But who knows, it may be that Affleck is playing it safe after he went to bat for the critically slammed Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Affleck has become a master of the diplomatic answer as of late, denying rumors that he will be leaving the role of Batman after Justice League despite reports that Warner Bros. is looking to replace him.
On the more hopeful side, however, Affleck also brushed off rumors that the extensive, tone-changing Justice League reshoots spelled trouble for the film.
"I've never worked on a movie that didn't do reshoots. Argo, we did reshoots for a week and a half! Four days on Gone Baby Gone!" And though the studio hasn't said anything official about Affleck's future as Batman, the actor is confident that Justice League reflects the best ambitions of the DC Extended Universe. "This is a really nice time to work in DC. They're hitting their stride. They're getting it right. It's starting to feel like it's really working."
Movies that have been dogged by frequent reshoots rumors have been admittedly hit or miss. While Rogue One ended up turning out for the better after studio-mandated reshoots, Suicide Squad ended up being...Suicide Squad. For now, we'll have to wait and see if Affleck's promise that Justice League is "interesting" comes to fruition. Whatever that means.
Justice League hits theaters November 17, 2017.