Justice League Director Drops Out After Family Tragedy, Joss Whedon To Finish Movie

Warner Bros. made a big announcement about the Justice League movie today.

Director Zack Snyder has dropped out amid a family tragedy, with Avengers director Joss Whedon stepping in to finish the film, which is due out in November. The Hollywood Reporter has the details.

According to the report, Snyder's 20-year-old daughter, Autumn, committed suicide in March. Filming on Justice League stopped for two weeks, and Snyder told THR that originally he wanted to get back to work on the movie to help cope with the tragedy, but has now decided to pull back further.

"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," he said. "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."

Justice League is in the post-production phase, with some additional scenes also still to be shot, now under the direction of Whedon. The film is still expected to premiere on November 17.

Snyder's wife, Deborah Snyder, is a producer on Justice League and is also stepping away during the difficult family situation.

For its part, Warner Bros. Pictures president Toby Emmerich said, "What they are going through is unimaginable, and my heart--our hearts--go out to them."

You can read the full interview here at THR.

Justice League stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg. The film also has Amber Heard as Mera, JK Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, and Ciaran Hinds as Steppenwolf.