WarnerMedia has launched an investigation into the production of ‘Justice League’, a source with knowledge at the company confirmed Variation. The decision comes after repeated public statements by one of the film stars, Ray Fisher, alleged abuse by filmmaker Joss Whedon and producers Geoff Johns and Jon Berg in making the film.
There were no findings yet, and there is no specific timeline for the research. The source claims that WarnerMedia Whedon, Johns or Berg did not prejudge that the investigation is not limited to them, and that the company will not be held in the public sphere for the integrity of the investigation.
Meanwhile, Fisher, who plays Cyborg, also tweeted that WarnerMedia had hired an independent third party to investigate his allegations. He also suggested for the first time that unnamed ‘others’ about the production ‘grossly abused their power’ and that the then progressive merger of Time Warner and AT&T provided cover for the alleged behavior.
It’s the latest in a series of tweets and public statements made by Fisher about “Justice League” in the last two months. In early July, Fisher dropped a bombshell on Twitter during the period when Whedon was taking over directorial duties for additional photography on the production of original director Zack Snyder – who returned from the film due to a family tragedy – Whedons treatment of the cast and crew of ‘Justice League’ was ‘gross, abused, unprofessional and completely unacceptable.’ Fisher further claimed that Johns and Berg “enabled” Whedon’s behavior.
Later that month, during a panel for an independent “Justice League” online fan convention, Fisher claimed he was in the middle of “a trial” to get to the “heart” of his accusations.
In August, Fisher claimed on Twitter that Johns’ called ‘him to Johns’ office’ to leave him and admonished him ‘to try to’ include grievances in the proper command chain ‘, and threatened Fisher’s career.
Despite his public statements, Fisher did not provide any concrete details or confirmation for his submissions.
A representative for Warner Bros. declined to comment, and a rep for Johns did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After Fisher’s initial request, Whedon declined to comment, and Berg said it was “categorically not true that we were engaging in unprofessional behavior.”
The news of the investigation comes just two days before Snyder is expected to appear during the DC FanDome fan convention to take a fresh look at his highly anticipated “Snyder Cut” from “Justice League,” the result of a grassroots fan attempt at Snyder’s to restore original vision for the production. The new version of “Justice League” is scheduled to debut on WarnerMedia’s subscription streaming service HBO Max in 2021.
Johns is scheduled to appear at the upcoming DC FanDome event on September 12 to promote the CW series “DC’s Stargirl,” which he produced and executive produced. Whedon is in the middle of producing the first season of “The Nevers” for HBO.
