‘Justice League’ Actor Reveals WB Changed Joss Whedon’s Opening Scene

Joss Whedon took over on Justice League from Zack Snyder, but the studio didn’t give him complete control over the movie, including one scene in particular.

That scene was in the film’s opening minutes. Justice League opens with Batman chasing down a burglar in Gotham, tracking him down to a rooftop. Their encounter ends a bit abruptly, and as Mindhunters actor Holt McCallany reveals, that’s because the studio made some changes to the scene.

“I love Joss Whedon,” McCallany told Men’s Fitness. “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.”

The scene didn’t come out like they wanted, but Whedon sent a thank you for the job McCallany did on the original scene.

“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.’ I can’t tell you how much it meant to me that he took the time to write to me. Joss Whedon is a class act. I had the letter framed,” McCallany said.

McCallany still had a blast filming the scene though and revealed in other takes he did at least try and get a few punches in.

“It was fun to fight Batman, even if I lost,” McCallany said. “In some of the takes, my character fights back a little more but with no success. I have my own fight style based on techniques I’ve learned over many years of boxing and working in films, and I got to use that here. In this case, it’s fighting a superhero, so it’s tougher—Batman can do a lot of things other guys can’t do.”

While some are asking for a Zack Snyder original cut, it would at least be great to see an unedited ultimate cut of the film when it hits on home video.

Justice League is in theaters now.