This is devastating news for Zack Snyder and his family as The Hollywood Reporter has revealed the director has stepped away from JUSTICE LEAGUE due to major family tragedy. This past March, his daughter, Autumn, committed suicide and Snyder is taking as much time as possible to be with his family during this terrible event. This means leaving JUSTICE LEAGUE effective immediately.
Zack's wife, Deborah, who is a producer on JUSTICE LEAGUE, is also stepping away from the film as their family takes time to heal. Their daughter's sudden death has been kept private until now, she was 20.
THR spoke with Zack, who said the following:
“In my mind, I thought it was a cathartic thing to go back to work, to just bury myself and see if that was way through it,” says an emotional Snyder in an interview Monday in his office on the Warner Bros. lot with Deborah sitting by his side. “The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all consuming. And in the last two months I’ve come to the realization …I’ve decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me. They are all having a hard time. I’m having a hard time.”
Stepping into Zack's duties is none other than Joss Whedon. The former THE AVENGERS director recently joined the DC Extended Universe when it was announced he would write and direct a BATGIRL movie. Whedon has now taken over the helm of JUSTICE LEAGUE before additional reshoots begin this summer. Whedon will keep Snyder's vision for the film intact, as much as he can, but post-production is now in his hands.
Warner Bros. thought about pushing back the release date for this fall's big ensemble movie, but the Snyders did not want any delay to the highly anticipated movie. Just last week there was a big rumor claiming JUSTICE LEAGUE was going through a massive overhaul with reshoots, however, it seems like the massive overhaul is the Snyders stepping away and Whedon taking the reigns.
To read the full report on THR, click here.
We here at DailySuperHero.com send our thoughts and well wishes to Deborah, Zack and the rest of the Snyder family during this very tough time.
JUSTICE LEAGUE releases in the U.S. on November 17.
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