It’s been a long, interesting road, butJustice Leagueis hitting theaters in just over a week. As the movie draws ever nearer to arriving, more information about the production and the final product are being revealed.Justice Leagueclocks in at 119 minutes, making it significantly shorter than even the theatrical cut ofBatman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. As it turns out, the shorterJustice League runtimewas actually mandated by Warner Bros.
According to a new in-depth report on the troublesome production ofJustice League, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara put his foot down and said that themovie needed to be under two hoursin length. There’s no question this was in response to the divisive nature ofBatman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. While the runtime wasn’t the primary problem with that movie, it’s much more reasonable to expect your average moviegoer to sit through a two-hour movie, as opposed to two and a half.
Ultimately, theruntime is no indication of quality. What really matters is thatJustice Leagueis a good movie. And Warner Bros. did everything they could to ensure that’s the case. Earlier this year, director Zack Snyder reportedly turned in a cut ofJustice Leaguethat studio executives “felt he had made progress with the lighter elements.” Though, they still felt there was room for improvement. That’s when Joss Whedon was brought in to write material for the “significant” reshoots.
Zack Snyder left the projectshortly after a personal tragedy, leaving Joss Whedon to direct the reshoots and usherJustice Leaguethrough the editing process. The report notes that it was a difficult and long post-production process trying to meld what Whedon and Snyder did. Ultimately, they were successful. More recent cuts of the movie tested similarly toWonder Woman, which is a very good sign. But all of this work came at a huge cost.
The report states that the already expensive blockbuster was made astronomically expensive after theJustice League reshootsand extra work was factored in. While no exact figure is given, it’s said the final budget forJustice Leagueis around $300 million. That means Warner Bros. needs this movie to make a ridiculous amount of money just to break even, after the huge marketing costs are factored in. Warner Bros. is reportedly happy with the final product and they feel Ezra Miller’s Flash is going to be the breakout. That makes theFlashsolo movie, which is going to adapt theFlashpointstoryline, a top priority for the studio. But they’re also said to be waiting to see howJustice Leaguedoes before making any major moves.
Wonder Womanchanged the game for Warner Bros. and the DCEU. A lot of pressure is being put onJustice Leagueto continue that streak. Even if this movie is a huge success, Warner Bros. president Toby Emmerich wants to focus more on making good, individual superhero movies, as opposed to worrying about interconnectivity, in the future. This report by theWall Street Journalis certainly revealing and raises some questions. But at the end of the day, fans just want a good movie. Though it was a difficult process, it sounds like Warner Bros. may have found a way to make aJustice Leaguemovie fans will like.
