THR has confirmed that former Marvel impresario Joss Whedon has now departed the DCEU's upcoming Batgirl movie effective immediately.
In a statement that was later released to media, Whedon said that "it took me months to realize I really didn't have a story," and said that he was "grateful to Geoff (Johns, DC President) and Toby (Emmerich, Warner Bros. Pictures Group chief) and everyone who was so welcoming when I arrived, and so understanding when I…uh, is there a sexier word for 'failed'?"
Whedon was brought on to much fanfare in March 2017, which some saw as a direct slight to Marvel and Disney. Whedon had directed The Avengers and its sequel, Age Of Ultron, which was an arduous shoot for Whedon and seemingly added to his reason to depart the House Of Mouse.
THR's sources say that Whedon hit a wall, creatively, with Batgirl and also pointed to the fact that a male filmmaker - even if he's the guy who created Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse and Firefly, all pretty progressive in their own right - would face increased scrutiny. Whedon was originally brought into the DC fold when Zack Snyder departed from Justice League during the final stages of production and oversaw reshoots on the film.
Granted, Justice League was a critical and commercial failure, DC were obviously still confident Whedon could deliver and promptly handed him Batgirl right after Justice League.
What happens with Batgirl and the DCEU at large remains to be seen - especially given the fact that rumours are doing the rounds that Warners are planning to ditch the whole shared universe thing and focus on individual films, like the '80s-set Joker with Jaoquin Phoenix in the title role.
As for Whedon, don't be in the least bit surprised if he lands either back in Disney doing a Star Wars movie. He told as much when we interviewed him back in 2015 for Age Of Ultron.
Via THR