DC Movie News Bits: Joss Whedon Still Making BATGIRL, JUSTICE LEAGUE Batman Scene Details, James Wan on AQUAMAN Dialogue

Earlier this year, it was announced that Joss Whedon will write and direct a Batgirl movie, in addition to overseeing the Justice League reshoots. Since then, Whedon has been the subject of much negative buzz, primarily from his personal life and criticisms surrounding the reshoots. So, when a rumor broke out saying that Whedon was fired from Batgirl, it made sense. However, turns out it’s not true.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Whedon is still attached to direct Batgirl, and he is currently writing the script. Of course, it’s always possible that Whedon could leave the project in the future. But as of right now, he’s still doing it.

So yeah, not exactly a groundbreaking update. But, an update nonetheless.

Speaking of Whedon, we have some new details on a Batman scene that he wrote and directed for Justice League. Men’s Fitness spoke with actor Holt McCallany, who plays a burglar in the film’s opening scene. In that scene, the burglar comes into conflict with Batman, who is searching for a Parademon in Gotham.

McCallany talks about the experience of shooting that scene, as well as the privilege of playing a character in the DC Universe. Most interestingly, he reveals that the scene was originally more comedic, but Warner Bros. changed that. “My scene with Batman was originally conceived as a comedic scene. That’s how Joss wrote it, and that’s how we shot it. I thought it came out great, but the studio felt it would be a mistake to open the film with a completely comedic scene, so it was re-edited a little bit. I was disappointed, but when I got home to New York I found a bottle of my favorite Champagne and a note from Joss that said ‘To Battles Lost. Gratefully, Joss.'”

Justice League was noticeably heavier on comedy than past DC films, and even Batman got to crack some jokes. However, it turns out even the studio thought there had to be a line drawn.

For McCallany’s full interview with Men’s Fitness, click HERE.

In another Justice League scene, Aquaman and Mera meet underwater, but they create an “air bubble” to communicate inside of. Some fans thought that was kind of weird. Fortunately, that won’t be present the next time we meet these characters.

On Twitter, Aquaman director James Wan confirms that he won’t be using air bubbles for dialogue in his movie. Depicting dialogue between two characters underwater is definitely a challenge, but hopefully, Wan has a great approach to it.