news Joss Whedon Reportedly Threatened to Harm Gal Gadot’s Career During ‘Justice League’ Clash

Over the last year, “Justice League” star Ray Fisher has used social media to speak out against both the film’s reshoot director Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. executives, but he’s now given his first full sit-down interview on the matter with The Hollywood Reporter. Included in the lengthy Fisher profile are details expanding on the allegedly fraught relationship between Whedon and Fisher’s “Justice League” co-star Gal Gadot.

The “Wonder Woman” actress said in December 2020 that her experience with Whedon was “not the best one,” and now THR reports that, per “a knowledgable source,” Gadot “had multiple concerns with the revised version” of “Justice League.”

The THR report claims that sources shared that “the biggest clash … came when Whedon pushed Gadot to record lines she didn’t like, threatened to harm Gadot’s career and disparaged ‘Wonder Woman’ director Patty Jenkins. While Fisher declines to discuss any of what transpired with Gadot, a witness on the production who later spoke to investigators says that after one clash, ‘Joss was bragging that he’s had it out with Gal. He told her he’s the writer and she’s going to shut up and say the lines and he can make her look incredibly stupid in this movie.'”

One source also told the outlet that Gadot had “issues about her character being more aggressive than her character in ‘Wonder Woman.’ She wanted to make the character flow from one movie to the next.”

Gadot and Jenkins allegedly “went to battle” against Whedon, resulting in a meeting with then-Warner Bros Entertainment CEO Kevin Tsujihara. Gadot said in a statement to THR: “I had my issues with [Whedon] and Warner Bros. handled it in a timely manner.” IndieWire has reached out to representatives for Whedon, Gadot, and Warner Bros. for further comment.

The Fisher profile also includes new details about the Cyborg actor’s battles with Whedon and Warner Bros. executives. One point of contention between Fisher and executive Geoff Johns was over Cyborg’s physical appearance, with Johns allegedly telling Fisher to “play the character less like Frankenstein and more like the kindhearted Quasimodo.” The infamous Cyborg line “booyah” in the Whedon cut was also allegedly a source of some tension.

Per THR: “Fisher says that Johns had approached [original ‘Justice League’ director Zack] Snyder about including the line, but the director didn’t want any catchphrases. He managed the situation by putting the word on some signs in his version of the film, as an Easter egg. But Johns’ rep says the entire studio believed the booyah line was ‘a fun moment of synergy.'”

Fisher told THR that including the catchphrase in the live-action “Justice League” recalled “Black characters in pop culture with defining phrases: Gary Coleman’s ‘Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?’; Jimmie Walker’s ‘Dy-no-mite!'” Fisher noted that no one else in “Justice League” had a catchphrase and that “it seemed weird to have the only Black character say that.”

Head over to The Hollywood Reporter’s website to read more from the Fisher profile.
 
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