Ray Fisher reveals that Justice League reshoots changed almost every single scene with Cyborg. It's been nearly three years since the release of the first-ever live-action Justice League film. The highly anticipated DCEU film was helmed by director Zach Snyder through most of the production but departed the project due to a family tragedy. Joss Whedon replaced Snyder to complete the film, resulting in script rewrites, extensive reshoots, and other changes. Wheadon altered Snyder's original plan for the film, but one of the most notable differences was Cyborg's story.
Fisher's Victor Stone/Cyborg, who was first introduced in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, played a much more significant role in Snyder's Justice League. Snyder has even previously stated that Cyborg's story is "the heart of the movie." However, Whedon's cut largely diminished Cyborg's role, notably along with other characters played by people of color, including Kiersey Clemons' Iris West and Zheng Kai's Ryan Choi. Fisher has been increasingly vocal about Whedon's abusive behavior on set, describing the environment as toxic. Fisher claims the character cuts were intentional, as he recently accused Whedon of altering the skin of one of the actors of color with CGI. However, a spokesperson for Whedon denied the accusation. In recent months, Warner Bros. has launched an investigation into the reshoots. Still, Fisher has accused the studio of influencing the investigation and having "racist conversations" during post-production. Now Fisher is providing more details on the reshoot cuts.
Speaking with Geek House Show (via Snyderspecific on Twitter) about the reshoots, Fisher reveals that every single scene with Cyborg in the theatrical version of Justice League was reshot, except for his 30-second Gotham City rooftop scene. His full quote is below:
"What I can tell you for my character and what you saw in the theatrical version, that every single scene, with the exception of the Gotham City police rooftop scene with Commissioner Gordon, and Batman, and Flash and all that, every single scene that I think that I'm in was reshot. I reshot almost the entire film."
In the years since the film released, fans have campaigned for Warner Bros. to release Snyder's version of Justice League. Their demands were answered when news broke in May that HBO Max would release Snyder’s new official cut in 2021. Reshoots are already underway, including the return of Fisher, Ben Affleck (Batman), and Amber Heard (Mera), as well as the new addition of Jared Leto's Joker. It's also been reported that the characters cut from the theatrical version will appear in Snyder's cut.
Fisher has strongly supported the Snyder cut for a while, even speaking out last year about wanting Warner Bros. to release the version. It's disappointing how much Warner Bros. reduced Cyborg's role in the 2017 film, but it will be exciting to finally see Snyder's vision for the character when the new Justice League is released.
Source: Geek House Show (via Snyderspecific on Twitter)