Warner Bros. Reportedly Made Joss Whedon Tone Down Comedy In Early 'Justice League' Scene

Joss Whedon sheds some light.

A promo pic for 'Justice League.'
Warner Bros.

Image via Warner Bros.

A promo pic for 'Justice League.'

If DC movies were more critically and commercially successful, there wouldn't constantly be second-guessing every time one of their flicks underwhelms at the box office. However, once again that's not the case. Justice League got bounced from the top spot at the box office by the animated film Coco, and now the Monday morning quarterbacking over what Warner Bros. did both right and wrong has begun anew.

So far, Justice League has racked up almost $500 million at the box office worldwide. While that sounds like a win to the casual movie fan who might not care to analyze box office receipts, Warner Bros. is actually projected to lose $50-100 million off the picture.

While everybody who didn't like it probably has a different opinions on what could've made it better, director Joss Whedon (who took over for Zack Snyder) actually had the power to do something about it. Or at least had some power to do something about it.

You see, as it turns out, Whedon actually intended to inject some more humor into the flick right at the beginning. But that decision was axed by Warner Bros. We learned this thanks to a recent interview that actor Holt McCallany (who played a bad guy dispatched by Batman early on in the movie) held with Men's Fitness.

"I love Joss Whedon. My scene with Batman was originally conceived as a comedic scene. That’s how Joss wrote it, and that’s how we shot it," McCallany said. "I thought it came out great, but the studio felt it would be a mistake to open the film with a completely comedic scene, so it was re-edited a little bit. I was disappointed, but when I got home to New York I found a bottle of my favorite champagne and a note from Joss that said ‘To Battles Lost. Gratefully, Joss.’ I can’t tell you how much it meant to me that he took the time to write to me. Joss Whedon is a class act. I had the letter framed."

In defense of Warner Bros., maybe it wasn't right for the movie. Maybe their idea over the opening tone just didn't pan out. Or, maybe one day, during a release of the director's cut, we'll see the original scene and realize it was great. Who knows. 

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