Ray Fisher and Warner Bros. Still Butting Heads Over Joss Whedon and Justice League

Watching the cobbled-together travesty that was Justice League was painful for movie fans, but it was apparently painful for at least one of the cast members, as well. Ray Fisher claimed earlier this year that playing Cyborg during Joss Whedon‘s Justice League reshoots was a nightmare, calling the director’s behavior “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.” He further claimed that producers Geoff Johns and Jon Berg enabled Whedon’s behavior “in many ways.”

The allegations caused enough of a stir on social media that WarnerMedia decided to launch a third-party independent investigation into happenings on the set of the reshoots. Fisher alleged that the President of DC Films, Walter Hamada, called him to see if he would give Johns a pass:

So you can better understand how deep this goes:

After speaking out about Justice League, I received a phone call from the President of DC Films wherein he attempted to throw Joss Whedon and Jon Berg under the bus in hopes that I would relent on Geoff Johns.

I will not.

A>E

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) September 4, 2020

In response, Warner Bros. released an official statement denying Fisher’s claims about Hamada and stating that the actor has failed to participate in the third-party investigation:

Mr. Hamada explained that creative differences are a normal part of the production process, and that a film’s writer/director ultimately has to be in charge of these matters. Notably, Mr. Hamada also told Mr. Fisher that he would elevate his concerns to WarnerMedia so they could conduct an investigation.  At no time did Mr. Hamada ever ‘throw anyone under the bus,’ as Mr. Fisher has falsely claimed, or render any judgments about the ‘Justice League’ production, in which Mr. Hamada had no involvement, since filming occurred before Mr. Hamada was elevated to his current position.

While Mr. Fisher never alleged any actionable misconduct against him, WarnerMedia nonetheless initiated an investigation into the concerns he’d raised about his character’s portrayal. Still not satisfied, Mr. Fisher insisted that WarnerMedia hire an independent third party investigator. This investigator has attempted multiple times to meet with Mr. Fisher to discuss his concerns but, to date, Mr. Fisher has declined to speak to the investigator.

Fisher denies any refusal on his part to participate in the investigation, instead citing misrepresentation of the backer of the third-party investigator as his reason for ending communications:

Thank you all for the support and for seeing through @wbpictures desperate and scattershot attempt to discredit me to continue protecting those in power.

I met with the investigator via Zoom on Aug 26th. Below is an email I sent to my team and @sagaftra immediately after:

1/2 pic.twitter.com/TWTHv68G9Q

— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) September 5, 2020

Justice League: The Snyder Cut will debut on HBO Max in 2021.

Images courtesy of Warner Bros./DC Entertainment