Justice League's Ray Fisher says he still wants Warner Bros. to apologize for the investigation of Joss Whedon's abusive behavior. After making a cameo appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Fisher would make his proper film debut with Justice League, starring as former college athlete Victor Stone as he is cybernetically reconstructed following a near-fatal car accident by his father and the alien technology of the Mother Boxes. Stone would be recruited by Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince to join the titular superhero team and protect the Earth against Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons before they can terraform the planet and make way for the supervillain Darkseid.
Production on Justice League became one of the most infamous in Hollywood, with original director Zack Snyder departing following the death of his daughter and a slew of creative differences with WB. Whedon was subsequently brought onto to finish the film, instead choosing to re-write and re-shoot a large portion of it to meet WB mandates for a brighter tone and shorter runtime, though it would still ultimately see a mixed reception from critics and audiences alike and bomb at the box office, losing the studio a reported $60 million. Following years of fans campaigning for a Snyder to be allotted to restore his excised footage and vision and reports of Whedon's abusive behavior during reshoots, WB would reunite with the director for Zack Snyder's Justice League, a four-hour version of the film that would receive generally positive reviews from critics and acclaim from audiences.
During an appearance at MegaCon 2021 in Orlando, Florida, Fisher was asked by the No Load Time podcast about his potential return to the DCEU. The actor stated that while he loves the character of Cyborg and the DC world, he is still disappointed at how WB and Walter Hamada publicly handled their investigation into Fisher's abuse claims against Whedon during reshoots on Justice League and that the first step to rebuilding that bridge with the studios would be an apology. See what Fisher said below:
"That's a complicated question. I think, ultimately, how people spend their money determines what happens and what does not happen in this business, and particularly in comic books and DC. For me, there's a lot of stuff behind the scenes. Obviously, I've not been shy about talking about all of the things that have occurred over the last year, the back and forth that I've had personally and publicly with Warner Bros. Pictures, Walter Hamada, and the rest of the crew over there.
For me, I think it all starts with an apology coming from the Warner Bros. side of things. There's a lot of really gnarly stuff that has gone down, especially publicly. What Walter Hamada and Warner Bros. Pictures attempted to do, professionally and personally, during one of the most crucial years for Black people in the history of really humanity, is just unacceptable. So until such time an apology is issued, I definitely will not be supporting any Walter Hamada productions, period. And it's a tough thing because I'm a DC fan through and through. I love these characters, but sometimes you gotta give up what you love to do what’s right."
The entirety of the battle between Fisher, WB and DC Films has been one of the more complicated in film history that initially split the public down the middle over which side to take seriously. As further reports came out from Fisher and co-stars Jason Momoa and Gal Gadot, as well as from Whedon's beloved series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, public opinion generally shifted towards siding with the star. Even those who may have been unsure about Fisher's case due to a lack of details generally sympathized with the actor for WB's near-slanderous approach to defending themselves.
While Justice League and Snyder's extended edition weren't the end of Fisher's career, it certainly was supposed to be a springboard to launch the stage actor to big-screen stardom. Given the in-production DCEU film The Flash was supposed to include Fisher's Cyborg and the actor remains hopeful to return to the character in the future, many are certainly hopeful WB will begin building a new bridge with Fisher, especially as he's now offered what the first step would be in repairing that relationship. Only time will tell what the future holds for Fisher, Cyborg and the larger DCEU.
Source: No Load Time podcast
