Ray Fisher Accuses WB Of Deliberately Cutting Justice League's POC Characters
Cyborg actor Ray Fisher accuses Warner Bros. of intentionally removing characters played by people of color from the theatrical cut of Justice League. After first being introduced as Victor Stone/Cyborg in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Fisher was expected to have an expanded role in director Zack Snyder's Justice League. Snyder went as far as to describe Cyborg as the "heart" of his Justice League movie. However, Fisher's presence in the superhero team up was largely diminished by the time the film hit theaters in late 2017.
Fisher has been vocal about what he describes as a toxic environment that took over Justice League reshoots under replacement director Joss Whedon. Whedon was brought on board the DC Extended Universe movie after Snyder left to address a family tragedy. Whedon helmed extensive reshoots while also adding additional plotlines, repurposing footage, and reordering scenes. Fisher's claims led to WarnerMedia launching an investigation into the on-set behavior of Whedon and others. However, the actor has voiced his concerns about the transparency involved in the process.
In an interview with Forbes, Fisher has provided more details about his dispute with Warner Bros. over Justice League. According to the actor, the diminished screen time for people of color in the film was an intentional decision by the studio. Warner Bros. did not respond to Forbes' request for comment. Fisher said:
The erasure of people of color from the 2017 theatrical version of Justice League was neither an accident nor coincidence. I always suspected that race was a determining factor for the way that things went down, but it wasn’t until this past summer that I was able to prove it.
UPDATE (10/29/2020): A source close to production offered the following statement to Screen Rant:
The characters referenced in the story had been cut from the film before Joss stepped in to complete the project at the request of the studio – so the statement that these roles were cut by Joss is false.
Fisher also stated that "racist conversations" were held among Warner executives and that the notes he received during Justice League reshoots were racist in nature. Minority characters who were cut from Justice League or had their roles reduced beyond Fisher include Joe Morton as Silas Stone, Karen Bryson as Ellinore Stone, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, Harry Lennix as General Swanwick, and Zheng Kai as Ryan Choi. It has been reported that all these characters will appear in Snyder's Justice League coming to HBO Max in 2021.
Until now, Fisher had been unable to offer specifics behind his allegations and accusations directed at Whedon, Geoff Johns, Jon Berg, and Warner Bros. It's now known that in addition to a toxic and abusive work environment, Fisher witnessed racist decisions regarding the theatrical cut of Justice League. Given the removal of actors such as Bryson, Clemons, and Kai, it will be difficult for the studio to dismiss Fisher's claims as unsubstantiated.
Fisher's accusations make it clear the behind-the-scenes drama with Justice League extends far beyond plot holes and poor storytelling. The Cyborg actor has acknowledged the risk that comes to his career by going public with these accusations. The willingness to do so suggests that Fisher believes justice will be served and those who need to be held accountable will be. In the meantime, Snyder's Justice League will restore the film to its original vision and include those characters removed from the theatrical version.
Source: Forbes