Zack Snyder Steps Down From Finishing Justice League After Family Tragedy

The next movie in the DC Extended Universe of films is set to debut in less than two weeks with Wonder Woman, with Justice League coming later this year in November.

Justice League is in the post-production phase right now, which has included reshoots, but it has been announced that director Zack Snyder has just stepped down from the picture as a result of a family tragedy that occurred back in March.

This news comes courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, as it has now been revealed that Snyder's daughter, Autumn Snyder, passed away back in March as a result of suicide at age 20.

Her death had been kept private, even though it did put the movie on a two week break at the time of her death.

However, the death has really hit the family hard, as Snyder revealed that he was stepping down from the movie, with him telling The Hollywood Reporter:

"In my mind, I thought it was a cathartic thing to go back to work, to just bury myself and see if that was way through it. The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all consuming. And in the last two months I've come to the realization ...I've decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me. They are all having a hard time. I'm having a hard time."

With Snyder stepping down, Joss Whedon has stepped in to take over to finish handling reshoots and finishing up Justice League.

Warner Bros.

Pictures originally proposed pushing back the release date of the movie, but both Zack Snyder and his wife Deborah Snyder, a producer on the film who is also taking a break, did not want them to have to do that.

Snyder went on further to explain that he recently realized he needed to step away after this, which forced him to explain why.

"Here's the thing, I never planned to make this public. I thought it would just be in the family, a private matter, our private sorrow that we would deal with. When it became obvious that I need to take break, I knew there would be narratives created on the internet. They'll do what they do. The truth it...I'm past caring about that kind of thing now."

Justice League is currently still on track to release on November 17. The next movie in the DCEU is set to debut next month with Wonder Woman on June 2.

Wanna read more on this? Check these out: How DC And WB Can Make Justice League 2 A Better Movie (more); Zack Snyder's Son Criticizes Warner Bros.

For Justice League Movie Changes (more); Jason Momoa Reacts To Mixed Critical Reception For Justice League (more); Spoilers: How The Justice League Ending Leads Into Justice League 2 (more).

And here are some more related articles: Are Audiences And Critics Divided Over The Justice League Movie? (more); Early Rotten Tomatoes Rating For Justice League Shows Mixed Reception (more); Review: Justice League Is An Entertaining Team Up Movie (more).

A few more: Presales for Justice League Are Bigger Than That Of Wonder Woman (more); Justice League Movie Confirmed To Have Two Post Credit Scenes (more).