Several comic book movies from both Marvel and DC have been plagued by trouble productions and behind-the-scenes drama over the years. Modern superhero films are among Hollywood’s most profitable projects. As a result, superhero films are usually synonymous with big-budget, hight-stakes projects, which sometimes can lead to complicated productions.
The list of superhero films that had troubled production is not limited to a specific franchise and includes the MCU, the DCEU, non-MCU Marvel movies, and non-DCEU DC projects. Creative differences, budget issues, and other problems are among the reasons why these films had such difficult productions. From Ant-Man to Justice League, here are 12 comic book movies plagued by behind-the-scenes drama.
12 Ant-Man
Ant-Man premiered in 2015 as part of the MCU’s Phase 2, yet plans for an Ant-Man movie go back to the 1980s when Stan Lee himself tried to bring the character into the big screen. A more solid Ant-Man movie project began to take form in 2001 when Edgar Wright wrote a treatment for a heist-like Ant-Man story. Edgar Wright continued attached to the Ant-Man movie for years to become, yet the project didn’t become part of Marvel’s Phase 1 slate leading up to The Avengers. Unlike the comics, neither Ant-Man nor the Wasp were part of the Avengers’ first lineup in the MCU.
Edgar Wright’s Scott Lang-centered Ant-Man movie continued to be in development even after The Avengers. Some test footage sequences of Scott Lang in his Ant-Man suit had been made, and the movie was eyeing a July 2015 release date. However, just before filming started, Edgar Wright exited Ant-Man due to creative differences with Marvel Studios. While directors exiting blockbuster films due to creative differences would become quite common in major franchises, Wright exiting Ant-Man was significant news for a franchise that had seen mostly successful productions up until that point. Peyton Reed helmed Ant-Man instead and the film made it to its July 2015 release date.
11 Superman II
Superman is often listed as one of the best superhero movies of all time, but its sequel, Superman II, had a very troubled production. Richard Donner was fired from Superman II following a clash with the producers, and Richard Lester was hired to complete the sequel. However, a significant portion of what was meant to be Superman II had already been filmed during the making of Superman. The idea was for Lester to reshoot the scenes Donner had already filmed, according to what the Directors Guild of America establishes. However, Lex Luthor actor Gene Hackman and Jor-El actor Marlon Brando reportedly refused to film those scenes.
As a result, Superman II had to combine scenes Richard Donner had filmed with the new ones directed by Richard Lester. In 2006, almost 30 years after Superman II premiered, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released. This version of the film restored as much footage from Donner’s time at the production as possible, although it had to use some scenes Lester filmed for Superman II for the movie to work. The Donner Cut of Superman II is quite different from the theatrical cut, and it summarizes how complicated the production of the Superman sequel was.
10 The Flash
Even without considering the Flash movie projects from before the DCEU, The Flash had one of the most troubled productions in recent Hollywood history. A Flash movie set in the same continuity as Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was announced in late 2014 as part of Warner Bros.’ plans of creating a cinematic universe centered on the DC characters. Seth Grahame-Smith was the first director to be attached to this version of The Flash, yet the filmmaker exited the project on April 2016. A story treatment for The Flash had been previously written by Phill Lord and Chris Miller.
Rick Famuyiwa replaced Seth Grahame-Smith as The Flash’s director, with the movie set to begin filming on January 2017. However, Famuyiwa also exited the project, with creative differences between the filmmaker and the studio pointed out as the reason. It was then reported that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein would direct The Flash, which by that point had already become a tricky production. Daley and Goldstein also existed in The Flash due to creative differences. Finally, Andy Muschietti was hired to direct The Flash with a script from Christina Hodson. Before The Flash‘s release, actor Ezra Miller became involved in a series of allegations and controversies.
9 The New Mutants
The New Mutants had several release dates attached to it, ranging from April 2018 to its eventual theatrical release on August 2020. The New Mutants’ successive delays can be attributed to many reshoots due to reportedly poorly reviewed test screenings. The X-Men spinoff was originally announced as a horror superhero movie, yet the tone of the film went through major changes before it finally premiered. Disney’s acquisition of Fox – which meant new plans for the X-Men IP – followed by the COVID-19 pandemic also played a role in The New Mutants’ historical number of delays. The New Mutants grossed $49.2 million at the worldwide box office on a $67 million budget.
8 Blade: Trinity
The first two Blade movies helped define modern comic book adaptations, yet Blade: Trinity was a very complicated production. After multiple directors were attached to the project, David S. Goyer, who wrote Blade and Blade II, was hired to helm the movie. Blade star Wesley Snipes reportedly clashed with Goyer on set, with the actor reportedly refusing to interact directly with the director. David S. Goyer addressed the Wesley Snipes rumors, stating that “It was a very tortured production” and that he and the actor were “not friends anymore.” One example of how this affected the movie is the infamous Blade: Trinity scene where Blade has CGI eyes.
7 Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s great reviews and box office performance were followed by an extensive report by Vulture detailing Across the Spider-Verse’s working conditions. The report featured an interview with an artist, under the pseudonym of “Stephen,” who claims “Over 100 people left the project because they couldn’t take it anymore.” The source mentions last-minute changes made to the film and months of work not “coming out the other side” due to the constant changes. As of the writing of this article, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is still scheduled to release on March 29, 2024, only 10 months after Across the Spider-Verse premiered.
6 Spider-Man 3
The success of Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 led to Spider-Man 3 happening right away. While Sam Raimi returned for a third Spider-Man movie, the director and the studio were not on the same page regarding what the film would cover. It is widely known that producer Avi Arad wanted Venom to be in Spider-Man 3, even though Raimi was not a fan of the character and did not understand its appeal. Venom ended up being in Spider-Man 3 anyways, as did Gwen Stacy, which reportedly was something the studio wanted as well. On-set injuries and other creative clashes also happened. The Spider-Man franchise would be rebooted shortly after Spider-Man 3.
5 X-Men: The Last Stand
Bryan Singer did not return for X-Men: The Last Stand and helmed Superman Returns instead. James Mardsen, who played Cyclops in the original X-Men movies, was cast in a supporting role in Superman Returns. This led to Cyclops being killed off at the beginning of The Last Stand. Matthew Vaughn was brought in to replace Singer in The Last Stand. However, the director exited the project due to the movie’s rushed schedule, eying a May 2006 release date. Vaughn would later return to the X-Men franchise to helm X-Men: The First Class with a lot of creative control. Brett Ratner replaced Vaughn in a production that continued to be troubled.
4 Suicide Squad
Unlike projects like The Flash, which had several versions before finally happening as part of the DCEU, Suicide Squad came to be around the birth of the DC Extended Universe. The Suicide Squad movie was rushed to join the DCEU slate for a 2016 release, the first movie to be released after Batman v Superman. However, Batman v Superman’s poor reviews led the studio to course-correct the entire franchise, starting with Suicide Squad. The first Suicide Squad trailer was very different from the final movie in terms of tone, for example. Director David Ayer has confirmed that his cut of the movie is different from the theatrical one.
This has led to campaigns for Warner Bros. to “Release the Ayer Cut,”similar to how Zack Snyder’s Justice League was released on HBO Max. Among the differences between the Ayer Cut and the theatrical cut is the presence of an original score, more of Jared Leto’s Joker, more of Ben Affleck’s Batman, a romantic subplot with Deadshot and Harley Quinn, and no Flash scene setting up Justice League.
3 X-Men: Dark Phoenix
X-Men: Dark Phoenix was directed by Simon Kinberg, a long-time producer in the X-Men franchise that had directed some scenes for X-Men: Apocalypse and the 2015 Fantastic Four reboot. Kinberg had also co-written The Last Stand, which adapted Marvel Comics’ Phoenix Saga. The X-Men franchise tried once again to adapt this Jean Grey storyline with Dark Phoenix. Reshoots for Dark Phoenix were planned following early test screenings, yet Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox had begun. With the X-Men characters now available for Disney’s Marvel Studios to use, Dark Phoenix became the end of its franchise before it even premiered. Dark Phoenix grossed $252 million at the box office.
2 Fantastic Four (2015)
To maintain the movie rights to the Fantastic Four, Fox would have to release another Fantastic Four movie sooner rather than later. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer premiered in 2007, and a Fantastic Four reboot by Josh Trank entered production in 2014. While Fant4stic was inspired by the Ultimate Fantastic Four comics, director Josh Trank and original writer Jeremy Slater clashed over the film’s tone, leading to Slater leaving the project. There were also significant creative differences between Trank and the studio, leading to last-minute changes and major reshoots reportedly helmed by Simon Kinberg. After the film premiered, Trank claimed he once had a different version of it.
1 Justice League
Justice League was already in production when Batman v Superman premiered, leading the studio to course-correct the team-up movie based on Batman v Superman’s reviews and second-weekend box office drop. Before that, the originally announced two-part Justice League movie had become a standalone Justice League film, with director Zack Snyder returning after Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. Snyder had to exit the film in May 2017 due to a family tragedy. Joss Whedon was brought in to complete the movie, with several reshoots and rewrites also incorporated. The theatrical Justice League movie was very different from what Snyder intended, as seen in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
The Snyder Cut was released on HBO Max on March 2021 after years of fan campaigns for the studio to release Zack Snyder’s four-hour version of the film. Some Justice League actors, including Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, also joined the campaign. Actor Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg in Justice League, accused Joss Whedon of abusive behavior during the Justice League reshoots, leading to an official investigation on the matter. The tent-pole comic book movieJustice League ended up having a budget of $300 million and grossed $657.9 million at the worldwide box office.
