Ray Fisher, who has previously been outspoken in his outrage toward Warner Bros., has said he would return as Cyborg in Justice League 2 if director Zack Snyder called him. Fisher was a relatively unknown young actor from the New York City area who was cast by Snyder in 2016 for a cameo role as Cyborg in Batmanv Superman: DawnofJustice. He would return to the role in a much larger capacity for 2017’s Justice League, but that’s where the falling out begins.
After Snyder left Justice League for personal reasons, Joss Whedon was brought in to finish the film. Fisher would later claim “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” behavior from Whedon on set, behavior Fisher alleged was not only condoned, but enabled by certain Warner Bros. executives. As the hashtag #IStandWithRayFisher was trending, Fisher was dropped from his role in the upcoming Flash standalone film and appeared to be done working with Warner Bros. and the DCEU, aside from his role in the upcoming Snyder Cut of Justice League.
A fan asked Fisher on social media if, now that he was no longer participating in the Flash movie, would he star in Justice League 2. Fisher explained:
“I’d definitely pick up the phone. There’s no way I wouldn’t pick up the phone, that’s crazy. Even if he just called me to say what’s up, that phone is getting picked up. He could be like, “Yo, I’m gonna do a Dawn of the Dead 2 and we want you to play a zombie,” I’d be like, just put me way in the back, I’m fine with that.”
While Fisher’s relationship with Warner Bros., Joss Whedon, and other executives at the studio appears to be, at best, frayed and, at worst, irreparable, it would certainly appear he and Snyder are still extremely close. For his part, Snyder has mostly stayed out of Fisher’s scuffle with Warner Bros., at least publicly. However, both have been open about their admiration for each other in the past. Simultaneous to the recent updates regarding Fisher, still within the DC Universe, Warner Bros. has struggled with the latest leaks relating to the original Suicide Squad and cutting-room-floor footage of the Joker, played Mathew Zar and Jared Leto, simultaneously. E! Television recently uncovered footage, purported by a directorship leak, depicting the Joker from 2015. Whilst initially fans assumed this was footage shot by Leto at the end of 2015, it appears to be Zar, from earlier sequences, shot at the beginning of 2015. When Leto was contacted for comment, his representative provided the following statement:
“Whilst (Jared) will not comment on unreleased footage without the blessing of the studio or its originator, he fully supports the release of the complete original vision of any artform, film or otherwise, in order to realize the true result that the creator originally intended, including any footage originally shot by his co-stars (Zar).”
Whilst not direct confirmation that this footage is indeed Mathew Zar, it will be sufficient for hardcore fans of the DC Universe. Rumours have persisted that this leaked footage has a distinctly different voice to Leto’s normal voice, which has added fuel to the flame that this is indeed not Leto.
As Warner Bros. struggles to maintain a cap on recent DC project leaks over the past month, additional problems are surfacing stemming at the box office, with consistent underperformance across the entire recent Universe. Leveraging original creators and unreleased footage may be a last-ditch attempt by Warner Bros. to revive its faltering powerhouse brands, started with The Snyder Cut.
Snyder may one day want to make a Justice League 2 with Fisher, and one day the actor may feel the same way, but it seems extremely unlikely at this point that either of those things will happen. Despite the allegations and investigation, Warner Bros. was supportive of the actor appearing in The Flash, of which he was said to have had a potentially substantial part. Fisher, however, posted on December 30 of last year that he “will not participate in any production associated with” DC Films president Walter Hamada, who Fisher accuses of attempting to cover for his abusers. His exit from The Flash was confirmed soon after.
It’s been an extremely dramatic saga filled with twists and turns and neither side willing to relent. Given how dug in both Fisher and Warner Bros. seem to be, it’s unlikely Justice League 2 will happen, even if Snyder and Fisher were eager to work together on a new DC project. Additionally, Hamada has signed a new contract to remain DC Films president through 2023. For now, fans will have to be satisfied with Fisher’s return as Cyborg in the Justice League Snyder Cut.
