There are two truths in the nerd community. Firstly, we are passionate and will argue/debate until the son comes up over anything we love. Secondly, we come together and stand strong when needed.
And it’s a time to forgot our differences and show our support over a very sad piece of news that we never saw coming.
Speaking to THR today, director Zack Snyder has announced that he, and his producer wife Deborah Snyder, are stepping back from finishing Justice League over a devastating family tragedy.
In March past, the couple’s 20-year-old daughter, Autumn, died by suicide.
We can only imagine the pain the family is feeling.
“I’ve decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me,” Zack said.
As for the movie itself, we’ve known that Avengers and Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Joss Whedon has joined the DC Cinematic Universe for a while now (here), but it seems that he will be overseeing the finishing of the Justice League movie along with any minor reshoots and it still seems likely the movie will meet its November 17th release date.
Originally the movie was put on a two week hiatus in March to allow the Snyders time to deal with the tragedy but it seems, understandably, that they need more time: “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,” and emotional Zack Snyder said.
“The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all consuming. And in the last two months I’ve come to the realisation …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.”
While Snyder’s involvement in the DC Cinematic Universe has been nothing if not decisive, we would like to think that no-one would ever have liked to have seen him step down – even temporarily – in these circumstances: “What they are going through is unimaginable, and my heart — our hearts — go out to them,” says Warner Bros Pictures president Toby Emmerich.
The studio offered the couple a chance to delay the movie’s release but the Snyders declined, instead they wanted to hand the reigns over to Whedon to finish the movie by writing and filming a few additional scenes.
“The directing is minimal and it has to adhere to the style and tone and the template that Zack set,” says Emmerich.
“We’re not introducing any new characters. It’s the same characters in some new scenes. He’s handing a baton to Joss but the course has really been set by Zack. I still believe that despite this tragedy, we’ll still end up with a great movie.”
Our thoughts and prayers are completely with the Snyder family over this unthinkable event and we salute how he tried to keep it a private, family affair.
“I never planned to make this public,” Snyder says.
“I thought it would just be in the family, a private matter, our private sorrow that we would deal with. When it became obvious that I need to take break, I knew there would be narratives created on the internet. They’ll do what they do. The truth it…I’m past caring about that kind of thing now.”
Putting everything in perspective, he reflects: “I want the movie to be amazing and I’m a fan, but that all pales pretty quickly in comparison.
“I know the fans are going to be worried about the movie but there are seven other kids that need me. In the end, it’s just a movie. It’s a great movie. But it’s just a movie.”
We hope the Snyder family can have the respect and privacy that they deserve in their time of need and sadness. They’ll certainly set it from us.
And we agree, while we are very excited for Justice League in November, it pales in significance when it comes to such things.
Rest in peace, Autumn.
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