2017 Justice League was in fact a very unlucky project. Originally to be directed by Zack Snyder, the project was eventually taken on by Joss Whedon. This came in after Snyder lost his daughter due to unfortunate events. Following this, he had to leave the project mid-production. As a result, Whedon took over. But things only went downhill from here. The movie was considered to be the worst iteration of Justice League.
It all started with Ray Fischer revealing Whedon’s toxic behavior. The world saw an extensive one-year campaign to revive Snyder’s Cut of the Justice League. During this time, Fischer couldn’t resist but spill some secrets. Cyborg actor Ray Fisher came forward in 2020 with allegations about Whedon’s onset behavior during the initial reshoots. Fisher said that Whedon was “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” on set. Following this, Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) and Jason Momoa (Aquaman) came forward in support of Fischer. It was said that Warner Bros. was to take measures, but nothing has been revealed yet.
In a new report from THR, one instance involved Gal Gadot as well. It seems to be the classic case of disagreement between an actor and a director. But things tend to take a different turn, for the worst. The actress was unhappy with the direction of her character in the reshoots and the lines she was given, leading Whedon to reportedly threaten her career if she did not comply. It’s also reported that Whedon disregarded Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman’s director), and it is no secret that Patty and Gal are great friends.
A witness on the set reports that Whedon was in fact boasting of his confrontation with Gal Gadot and that he was giving such sucky lines to Gal Gadot on purpose. Gal Gadot was still fresh in the DC Extended Universe as Wonder Woman had released only a few months before the 2017 Justice League. Hence, Whedon purposefully sabotaging Gadot’s Wonder Woman would have definitely scorched her character. Even though Wonder Woman (2017) was fairly well-received by the fans, Justice League ultimately flopped.
Joss Whedon’s toxic behavior is no surprise to Hollywood. It seems like Ray Fischer and Gal Gadot are not the only ones to receive the short end of the stick. Whedon’s behavior on various sets has been corroborated by several people, with Charisma Carpenter of Buffy the Vampire Slayer just the latest to speak up about the way Whedon treated her. Carpenter was inspired to come forward because of Fisher’s own bravery in coming forward and various members of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast came out in support of Carpenter. Warner Bros. and DC are only grateful to Zack Snyder for restoring the Justice League.
