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Justice League was always going to be a massive endeavor. Warner Bros.’ superteam tentpole crosses three of the studios’ major franchises and backdoor-pilots a few more, bringing together blockbuster protagonists Batman and Wonder Woman with future solo-film stars Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Flash. But in May, in the midst of reshoots, the film lost director Zack Snyder, who stepped back from his role in the film. The studio announced that the reshoots would be overseen by Joss Whedon, the Avengers director who had recently universe-jumped to DC to begin work on his Batgirl project.

“It’s a little bit unorthodox,” admits Ben Affleck, who will reprise the role of Batman in Justice League. “Zack had a family tragedy, and stepped off, which was horrible. For the movie, the best person we could’ve possibly found was Joss. We got really lucky that he stepped in.” Affleck, who helmed the Best Picture-winning Argo, describes the resulting film as “an interesting product of two directors, both with kind of unique visions, both with really strong takes. I’ve never had that experience before making a movie. I have to say, I really love working with Zack, and I really love the stuff we’ve done with Joss.”

Image zoom Clay Enos/DC Comics/Warner Bros.