‘Justice League’: Joss Whedon to Direct Remaining Scenes as Zack Snyder Deals with a Family Tragedy

Zack Snyder is stepping down from directing “Justice League.” The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, which comes for a very unfortunate reason: Snyder’s daughter committed suicide in March and he’s bowing out to deal with the loss. Joss Whedon is coming aboard to finish the film, which is still expected to hit its planned release date of November 17.

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Autumn Snyder was 20 at the time of her passing. Deborah Snyder, a producer on “Jusice League,” is likewise taking a step back from the superhero team-up film, which stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller. “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,” Snyder told THR alongside his wife.

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“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.” Whedon had already been brought on to write a few additional scenes; Snyder ultimately decided it would be best for the “Avengers” helmer to direct them as well.

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“Here’s the thing, I never planned to make this public,” he 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.”

Autumn Snyder was a student at Sarah Lawrence College, a liberal-arts school located just outside of New York City. She had written a sci-fi/fantasy novel that her parents would now like to publish so that the proceeds can benefit a charity. “In the end, she didn’t make it, but her character does and I think there would be something cathartic for people,” her father said.

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