Former DC Comics president Diane Nelson recently spoke about her time at DC Studios. When discussing the production of Justice League, Nelson called Joss Whedon’s final cut a “Frankenstein” and a terrible final product.
It’s no secret that DC Studios was a mess for the first decade of its life. A rotating cast of leadership and studio interference to change projects to make them more similar to Marvel led to some of the worst-received comic book projects of all time, perhaps none more so than Joss Whedon’s Justice League. Yet it seems despite all the interference, not even the executives liked it, with former DC Comics president Diane Nelson saying she would have much preferred Zack Snyder’s version to the “terrible” film they got:
“My characterization is Joss was a bit of a shiny penny during a time when they were looking for something shiny to grab onto… Yeah, I mean, I thought the final film was terrible,” Nelson told The Washington Post. “Yeah, I mean, I would have much preferred a darker-than-I-wanted or longer-than-I’d hoped-for Zack Snyder cut than the Frankenstein cut we got in theatres. The Trinity characters of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman should have, by any measure, blown any other superhero movie away, and they didn’t.”
It should be noted that Zack Snyder was forced to step away from Justice League due to personal matters at the end of production, though DC Studios certainly didn’t stop Joss Whedon from making the cut his own instead of following through on Snyder’s vision. Luckily, it seems as though Jim Lee, current head of DC Comics following Diane Nelson’s departure, won’t have to deal with the same drama, as James Gunn and Peter Safran seem set to have a truly cohesive environment for artists in film and print.
The future of the DC Universe
James Gunn and Peter Safran told journalists that their vision for the DC Universe includes locked scripts, wiggle room, and a unified storyline across film, television, animation, and video game projects. The two explained that the DC Universe could bring back elements from previous DC regimes, meaning that their eight-to-year plan is not a full reboot.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, and Blue Beetle have all been released following the announcement of the new DC Universe, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom still slated to hit theaters in 2023. Will the characters from those movies make appearances in the new DCU? Only Gunn and Safran know.
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