Warner Bros. exec thought Joss Whedon's Justice League was "goofy and awful"

Superman in Justice League
(Image credit: DC/Warner Bros.)

Zack Snyder's Justice League is coming. The director's cut of the superhero team-up will no-doubt please fans who were outraged by the original theatrical version, which was heavily changed by Joss Whedon. It turns out, Snyder fans were not the only ones disappointed by the Justice League remix. 

Speaking with Vanity Fair for a feature on Snyder's new version of Justice League, an executive at the studio gave their verdict on the original. 

"When we got to see what Joss actually did, it was stupefying,” they said, requesting anonymity. “The robber on the rooftop – so goofy and awful. The Russian family – so useless and pointless. Everyone knew it. It was so awkward because nobody wanted to admit what a piece of shit it was.”

That's a particularly scathing takedown of Whedon's Justice League which, of course, was not a hit with critics either, currently holding a 40% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

During the making of Justice League, however, executives weren't exactly in agreement with Snyder, either. The director says the studio sent down producers to act a "babysitters" following the critical failure of Batman v Superman. They also nixed ideas, such as Batman falling in love with Lois Lane.

"The intention was that Bruce fell in love with Lois and then realized that the only way to save the world was to bring Superman back to life," Snyder explained. "So he had this insane conflict, because Lois, of course, was still in love with Superman. We had this beautiful speech where [Bruce] said to Alfred: 'I never had a life outside the cave. I never imagined a world for me beyond this. But this woman makes me think that if I can get this group of gods together, then my job is done. I can quit. I can stop.' And of course that doesn’t work out for him."

We'll get to see the full extent of the changes when Zack Snyder's Justice League launches on HBO Max on March 18 and in most other territories day-and-date via VOD services. Also in that Vanity Fair piece, a new look at Joker, in a particularly Christ-like pose, was revealed. 

Until that cut finally arrives, check out what else is coming from the worlds of DC and Marvel with our complete guide to new superhero movies.

Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.