During the San Diego Comic Con weekend, a scoop from The Hollywood Reporter said that the Justice League reshoots were actually extensive, although star Ray Fisher (Cyborg) had said on the Hall H stage that they were brief. According to a new report from Variety, Warner Bros. invested more than $25 million in the reshoots over a two-month period, with the goal of making Justice League a worthy successor to Wonder Woman.
As a comparison, the Thor: Ragnarok reshoots took no more than three weeks. The average budget allocated to this type of work is around $10 million, with notable exceptions that include Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and World War Z. If the reports turn out to be true, it does raise some issues.
According to Variety, Joss Whedon’s purpose in filming additional scenes was to punch up the dialogue while retaining Zack Snyder’s set pieces. Whedon was also working to improve transitions between the movie's sequences.
These extensive reshoots have created scheduling issues for the stars, specifically Jason Momoa (who is currently shooting Aquaman) and Henry Cavill. It’s become even more difficult for Cavill, whose current role in the sixth installment of the Mission Impossible franchise requires him to sport facial hair.
According to Variety, Cavill’s MI6 role creates even more post-production work on Justice League, because the facial hair will have to be digitally removed.
As insider scoops, these tidbits should be taken with a grain of salt. But this type of scoop has largely been on point.
It remains to be seen whether Justice League (scheduled for a 17th of November release) will be a worthy Wonder Woman successor or a Suicide Squad-type mess.
