Major spoilers for Justice League.

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There's a big villain in Justice League and it isn't Steppenwolf: it's reshoots. The exact nature of the DCEU's infamous reshoots has been debated endlessly over the past year - was Joss Whedon executing a massive course correct or simply helping out Zack Snyder? Whatever was true, most had assumed we'd never truly know.

However, nobody quite expected the reshoots to be quite so rampant or obvious in the movie itself; Justice League is a mishmash of tone, narrative and character, with glaring leaps in feel and some downright-shocking CGI that makes cracking the case a little easier than expected. It's a Frankenstein's monster of a film, with Whedon taking Snyder's body parts and trying to craft something new, and the clues to what really went down are right there on the screen.

Related: Justice League: 30 Easter Eggs & Secrets You Completely Missed

We're not going to be assessing whether the changes made throughout Justice League's long journey to the big screen ultimately helped or hindered the film here (but be sure to keep on eye on Screen Rant over the release weekend), but instead take an analytical deep dive into all the changes that were made to Zack Snyder's film by Joss Whedon. As a warning, it's going to get messy.

Joss Whedon Reshot More Than They're Saying (This Page)

Joss Whedon Reshot More Than They're Saying

joss whedon justice league

Before looking at everything that was changed, it's important to know what exactly happened behind-the-scenes. The accepted narrative is that it was mutually-decided Zack Snyder's first assembled cut of Justice League wasn't up to scratch and so Joss Whedon came in to do some rewrites to punch up the script, allegedly mainly in character moments. Then Snyder stepped down following the tragic death of his daughter Autumn, and Whedon coming on as a stand-in replacement. He conducted the reshoots and the rest of post-production, seeing the film over the finish line for his colleague.

All through this, we've been told several things over and over: Whedon was following Snyder's blueprint and wasn't going to change the tone or style; the reshoots weren't that extensive or impactful on the finished product; and that, above all, this was still Zack Snyder's picture. To cap it all off, the week of release we were told by producer Charles Roven that Whedon in total shot around 15-20% of the released film.

However, having seen the film, that definitely doesn't seem to be the case. The reshoots are more obvious than Fantastic Four's and betray a major tonal shift; this is mainly through inconsistencies, but overall Justice League feels a result of a concerted effort to move away from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman to something more Whedon-y. Indeed, the film is working hard to distance itself from the prior installments narratively, with callbacks stripped down and only ever there with a sheer sense of reluctance. Add to this that vast swathes of the trailers are nowhere to be seen and it's clear the changes are more seismic than we've been led to believe.

Related: Who's Really Responsible For Delaying Justice League's Rotten Tomatoes Score?

It would really seem that major alterations were mandated after Snyder's original version (the one that was widely cited as being "unwatchable"), with Whedon subsequently tasked with "fixing" it. We can't give a proper estimation of the exact amount of the film reshot, especially as a lot of Snyder's footage and scenes were completely cut, but feel safe saying the percentage of the film that comes from Joss is much, much higher than Warner Bros. are saying - and the knock-on impact of his changes go even bigger than that.

Almost All of Zack Snyder's Superman Was Reshot

Superman's return is at the center of Justice League and, evidently, the core of the reshoots. Put simply, all of Henry Cavill in Justice League (except for possibly two shots) is from Whedon. This had already been suggested by rumors, of course, but there's a major clue right there in the movie: the upper-lip.

Due to Henry Cavill's prior commitment to Mission: Impossible 6, he had a mustache during the time of the reshoots that Paramount wouldn't allow him to shave. So, the decision was made to remove it with CGI. Unfortunately, the VFX artists clearly didn't have enough time to perfect the effect; it's incredibly obvious in the finished film, with Superman's cleft existing in the horrifying pit of the uncanny valley that distracts in every scene he's in.

Read More: Henry Cavill Explains How His Mustache Was Removed

For the purpose of reshoot-discovery, this is incredibly telling. We can confirm that, unless they applied this effect to other scenes to create an unnerving consistency, barely any of Zack Snyder's Superman is in Justice League. It was long presumed Supes was being held back from the marketing as a way to build-up anticipation for his return from the dead, but it now appears to have been because all footage of him was still being worked on; the only released footage of Cavill in the trailers - the morning reunion with Lois - is Zack Snyder's version of the scene (confirmed by his storyboards), with Whedon's replacing it in the film.

The only moment where Cavill's real upper-lip seems to appear is in the finale when he says to Cyborg he likes being alive before helping him part the Mother Boxes, and a few beats later when recovering from the destruction of the Unity. This would suggest these are remaining elements from Snyder's shoot (although it would take further analysis to verify). While this confirms at least the ending goal was the same in both versions, the whole thing tells us more about what was different.

Every Superman scene was changed. Every single one: the cameraphone opening; the resurrection; the Justice League fight; "Do you bleed?"; the return to Kansas; the last-minute rescue of the League; the ending; even the mid-credits scene. Even the suit looks different, a literally brighter version of the previous iteration. Of course, some of these would appear to have been variations on what Snyder originally did, specifically Heroes Park - there's a shot of the Flash and Cyborg there in a pre-Joss trailer and it's fair to assume the "Do you bleed?" line came from the original script - but that doesn't take away from them being completely filmed again, evidenced by poor CGI and how the original version looked to be at night and involved a tank battle.

Further, none of these moments exist in isolation. Extrapolating, much of the finale is new - presumably, the Russian family are an added Whedon element - and the wider context for Kal-El's return would presumably also be altered - the scene inside the Kryptonian ship certainly has different lighting - and perhaps even the setup. Indeed, it feels strange that Superman is absent from the story until Bruce suddenly proposes the idea of resurrection; considering there were several trailer moments discussing his legacy cut, it would seem that entire narrative thread was adjusted. This again attests to distancing from Batman v Superman - this is the only plot thread actively continued, and it occurs separately from the main Steppenwolf narrative.

Related: Why Was Superman's CGI-Erased Mustache So Bad in Justice League?

But Superman is just the start. Once you take everything involving him as a reshoot, the dominoes really start to fall.

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in Justice League

How Joss Whedon Changed Wonder Woman

One prominent aspect of Justice League that we know was the result of Whedon is the emerging romance between Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince. Wonder Woman's role in the film - as the first recruit to Batman's cause - is mostly as it always appeared to be, but a good chunk of her role has shifted, with the DCEU's breakout star in many ways filling a more typical love interest position. There was always sexual tension between her and Bruce, but in Joss' redo that's really been amped up. To whit, Bats and Diana have a brief subplot that simmers for most of the first half, rises to prominence once they've first encountered Steppenwolf, then is resolved before traveling to Russia - a period we've already established has been greatly altered by the reshoots. The scenes of active fission between the pair - their brief falling out and reconciliation - are additions there to give a heightened interplay in the team.

Read More: What Justice League 2 Needs to Do To Earn Better Reviews

Along with this, we get a greater focus on Wonder Woman's past, specifically the events of her solo film that appeared to turn around the DCEU's fortunes earlier this year; Bruce calls out Diana turning her back on the world and brashly namedrops Steve Trevor in conversation, and we also get further nods to her origins and World War I. Additionally, while by trailers this originates from Snyder, within her introduction there are moments that stand out in terms of flow and hearken back to Patty Jenkins' action. These all feel incredibly meta, with an awareness of Wonder Woman's success, which along with how they mostly come in the aforementioned romance scenes make them evident reshoots. This further suggests the surrounding scenes to Superman's return were changed, as most of this conflict emerges solely from that discussion.

Joss Whedon's Added Jokes

Ezra Miller as The Flash in Justice League

Superman and Wonder Woman the Love Interest feel like Whedon's biggest standalone additions, but there are several other scenes that appear to be completely fresh from reshoots. Many of these are heavy-handed joke beats: the meta grave-digging sequence where Flash and Cyborg comment on the weirdness of the story feels like his justification for something morbid; the Lois and Martha scene (complete with "thirsty" sex joke) has the ring of TV to it; and Flash's graffiting of a fellow prison visitor is obviously a new scene as it features Marc McClure (the original Jimmy Olsen was initially going to be part of the Heroes Park sequence, which we already know was changed heavily).

There are many more jokey codas to scenes that stand out further. The king of these is Batman saying "something's bleeding" after the Superman confrontation, perhaps an attempt to "payoff" the "Do you bleed?" moment. In the Flash recruitment scene, which thanks to the 2016 SDCC trailer we know was mostly Snyder, at the end the camera angles suddenly change and Barry starts rambling about brunch, which, as this moment it called back to in Joss' mid-credits scene, is clearly an addition. We can identify further Whedon inserts from how they repeat his previous works: the Flash falling on Wonder Woman's chest (another odd handling of the character) was previously used in Avengers: Age of Ultron, while Superman saying he feels "itchy" post-resurrection comes from Buffy. It's not as direct, but the Bats and Supes bro-out after Bruce buys back the farm is a mirror to Age of Ultron (suggesting the entire bank repossession subplot is Whedon, as already felt by the "thirsty" scene).

It is worth noting some jokes were originally placed by Zack and have been adjusted slightly; obviously other Flash moments, but the "Aquaman sits on the lasso" beat was originally reported from principal photography (although the strange beat of fancying Diana, done with voiceover and insert shot, may be a reshoot addition). All of these are the traditionally-stated primary purpose of the reshoots and certainly are pretty impactful (especially as many running jokes can be extended to be from Joss due to them lining up with other changes), but their impact is more tonal than the prior narrative discussions.

Bruce Wayne Looks At Supermans Hologram in Justice League

A Lot Of Zack Snyder's Original Footage Has Been Completely Cut

And with the big additions stated, it's time to move to the other side of the story: what was cut. In a word, lots. Justice League's marketing blitz has been intense, which has given us an awful lot of footage from the film (pretty much every major moment not featuring Superman) and even more that didn't make it through.

Related: Why is Everything Red in the New Justice League Trailer?

Trailer shots not being in a movie are not necessarily always sign of changes - often they can be never intended to turn up in the film but liked by the marketing department enough that ceases to matter - but in this case, we can glean a lot. The first two trailers, from July 2016 and March 2017, were made before any reshoots and so can be read as "pure Snyder", whereas what came after - most notably the SDCC 2017 extended sneak and Heroes trailer from October 2017 - are done post-reshoots. We're going to use the earlier ones more for evidence.

So, a lot's gone: Bruce's extended journey to Amnesty Bay; all of Cyborg pre-transformation; Barry breaking the window with his finger; Bruce watching the Superman hologram; most of Bruce and Diana's recruitment discussion; the League rallying before fighting Steppenwolf in Gotham - Cyborg not believing in Batman and Wonder Woman preparing the team; Cyborg saving the policeman at Hero's Park; Aquaman fighting up towards Steppenwolf in the finale; Cyborg flying into the sky; the gang stood heroically against an orange sky. Additionally, although they were never in the trailers, Willem Dafoe's Vulko and Kiersey Clemons' Iris West are nowhere to be seen. Notice that these are all moments with actors, meaning we're not just dealing with altered effects shots but actual days of principal production undone.

And then there's the biggie: the SDCC 2017 trailer money shot of Alfred meeting who we presumed to be Superman. Not only is that not here nor any of the surrounding scene, but it's nigh on impossible to place it. It can't be straight after Superman's return because Batman himself brought him back. It may be Supes turning up in Gotham after his jaunt to Kansas just in time to help the team - Alfred's attitude fits - but that also feels strange, which means it could not have been Superman after all; either late additions to the proto-League Cyborg or Aquaman before the tunnel fight. Whatever the case, this is an example of entire elements being exorcised.

All that said, there are still some very clear Snyder ideas prominent in the film. The aforementioned Aquaman joke and Wonder Woman standing on Lady Justice are his typical style, and we have a lot of character meetings from the trailers that are kept. It's also fair to assume the Themyscira sequence was conceptualized by him. Perhaps the biggest untampered thumbprint of Snyder's, though, is the opening sequence, with the cover of "Everybody Knows" over a montage of the world post-Superman an artistic cousin to his Watchmen "The Times They Are A-Changin'" sequence (although the lyrics of the song could be read as a meta-take on this entire director issue). And, of course, one stylistic choice that looms large is the aspect ratio; Unlike Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, for Justice League Snyder opted for an IMAX-style ratio throughout, which obviously Whedon continued with.

Read More: Why Justice League's Aspect Ratio is Different To Batman v Superman's

Now, it's easy to conclude most of these shots were cut in reaction on the overriding changes already discussed and the fact the studio mandated a two-hour runtime. Indeed, they do point towards the notion that the general story thrust was similar in both versions of the film, with the big distinction being how Superman fits in. However, that's ignoring the grander scope of these tweaks.

How Joss Whedon Changed Zack Snyder's Mythology and Tone

With those active changes and cuts made clear, let's conclude by looking at the broader impact of the reshoots. A lot of moments feel like a mesh of directors, most emblematically shown by visuals; the film has been uniformly made light, which makes contrast obvious, and further the effects vary wildly, perhaps best seen in Aquaman and Bruce's meeting, with the greenscreen painfully so evident it's amazing they had the clip available pre-release. That said, when you slot everything together you end up with a vastly different product.

Perhaps the biggest difference from what you'd imagine Snyder pitched is the handling of mythology. Justice League is bringing together heroes with a range of powers - financial, faux-scientific, New God, Amazon, Atlantian, and Kryptonian - in a millennia-spanning story that covers galaxies, and while we know the film was always going to be focused more tightly on the heroes, the handling of that epic tale appears to have changed. It's a light story, with quick exposition dumps making the very basic MacGuffins clear.

Related: Justice League: What Was Steppenwolf's Plan?

Throughout the opening third, we have the recurring appearance of a triangle of cubes in various cultures, a rather obvious shorthand for the discovery of the Mother Boxes that seem to be about accelerating arcs: Batman enters knowing something's up (the opening soundstage intro to the character uses a previously-unlinked Holt McCallany and breaks continuity by Bruce not having a beard, leading us to conclude that's an addition), then later sees the painting during the Aquaman meeting which burns towards their conflict (as the scene that has some very obvious CGI additions at its end, we'd say this is also a reshoot); later, Arthur finds bright green parademon blood to get him to Atlantis, a sequence we know was greatly truncated (there's no costume acquisition) and was originally going to be facilitated by Vulko. It seems the grand scope of the story was cut down and replaced with Prometheus-style pictograms. Of course, here there are blurred lines, with some elements that could bridge - Parademons being powered by fear, especially them turning on Steppenwolf, is a bit more Snyder-y - but this is a safe assumption.

Similar shifts occur throughout. The League visits the Batcave, then move to a hangar that, per set visit reports, was meant to be at a totally different location off-site. Then, they somehow catch the Flying Fox outside of Bruce's hangout, despite it having no reason to be there. How much this was cutting around we don't know, but considering these scenes are known reshoots - concerning BrucexDiana and Superman - there are bigger mood moves.

Discussing mythology and tone, we also get the non-Superman adjustments to the ending fight and its scale. Obviously, it's changed from a nighttime sequence to day with ominous red skies, presumably made to visually lighten the scene, with the coloring accounting for the original filter of the footage. However, the location appears to have been changed from Pripyat (the location of the Chernobyl disaster) to the totally fictitious Pisarnov; it had been rumored there'd be a real-world connection and Batman stating there was a disaster 30 years ago is a pretty overt nod (Chernobyl was in 1986), so this was presumably removed out of respect. Structurally, though, everything feels lessened, made less complex and briefer. And coming after things are already lightened, that doesn't just alter flow, but the entire feel.

And, finally, there's obviously the music, which has a dramatic impact on the tone, especially when Danny Elfman calls upon the classic Superman and Batman themes. We'll likely never know what Junkie XL's version would have sounded like, and his replacement was clearly brought in to gel together all the reshot moments, but that doesn't make it stand out any less. Alone, the reshoots have a purpose. On the grand scale, they simply create a mess.

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From all of these examples, it's unavoidably clear that Zack Snyder's vision was changed and that Joss Whedon's reshoots weren't a couple of weeks of tweaks made difficult just by rescheduling; the movie was fundamentally changed, with the basic beats of the original story sanded down with simplified plot and jokes, and Superman completely redone. We don't know what the original Justice League was like, but we can say one thing with certainty: it's not close to what's currently playing in theaters.

Next: Justice League's Post-Credits Scenes Explained In Detail

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