‘Justice League’ Updates: Warner Bros. Plans to Move Away from Grim Tone of ‘Batman v Superman’, Director Zack Snyder Considers Past Mistakes

‘Justice League’ may experience an overall change in tone after criticism over the seriousness of Zack Snyder’s recent DCEU release ‘Batman v Superman’. Warner Bros. aims to move away from the grim tone for its future films. Snyder also admitted that he had to learn from past mistakes and make adjustments for his upcoming film.

Warner Bros.' official synopsis for the upcoming DC superhero team-up film posted on HitFix stated, “Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman, and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes — Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash — it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.”

It was also suggested that the new film will have a much different tone from Zack Snyder’s recent release ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’. Snyder’s film was described as dark, gritty and serious but the incoming addition to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) may introduce a much lighter and more humorous take.

Snyder admitted during an interview with Vulture, “I have had to, in my mind, make an adjustment. I do think that the tone of Justice League has changed because of what the fans have said.”

‘Batman v Superman’ was panned by critics and currently has a 27% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. It also failed to meet financial expectations for DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures. According to Geek.com, it was speculated that Warner Bros. needed the film to earn over $1 billion internationally to be deemed successful.

According to Box Office Mojo, it grossed $872.66 million worldwide against a $250 million production budget - $330.4 million earned from domestic sales and $542.3 million earned overseas. Although the film grossed $166 million on its opening weekend in North America, it experienced a marked box office drop its second weekend.

In efforts to move away from the seriousness of future films in the DCEU, Warner Bros. took steps to reinvent the tone of its upcoming releases. ‘Suicide Squad’ underwent extensive reshoots while DC Comics’ Chief Creative Officer was put in as the overseer for DC’s film slate.

‘Justice League’ is an upcoming action-adventure film based on the DC superhero team of the same name. It stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Jesse Eisenberg, and Ezra Miller among others. It is scheduled to premiere in the United States on November 17, 2017.

Geoff Johns, Dan Lin, George Miller, Doug Mitchell, Barrie M. Osborne, Charles Roven, and Deborah Snyder are serving as producers with Affleck, Jon Berg, and Wesley Coller executive producing.