Joss Whedon leaves his HBO show The Nevers, cites pandemic, exhaustion

Joss Whedon cited the pandemic and exhaustion as the reason he’s exiting his HBO show The Nevers, but Justice League star Ray Fisher thinks he’s covering:

Joss Whedon, the guy behind stuff like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and the first two Avengers movies, was working on a new fantasy show for HBO, something that sounds very much in his wheelhouse. “In the last years of Victoria’s reign, London is beset by the ‘Touched’: people — mostly women — who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities, some charming, some very disturbing,” reads a new description on HBO. “Among them are Amalia True (Laura Donnelly), a mysterious, quick-fisted widow, and Penance Adair (Ann Skelly), a brilliant young inventor. They are the champions of this new underclass, making a home for the Touched, while fighting the forces of… well, pretty much all the forces — to make room for those whom history as we know it has no place.”

Again, that description is new, which indicates that HBO is going ahead with the show…but Whedon won’t be a part of it. He just released a new statement to CinemaBlend announcing his departure:

"This year of unprecedented challenges has impacted my life and perspective in ways I could never have imagined, and while developing and producing The Nevers has been a joyful experience, I realize that the level of commitment required moving forward, combined with the physical challenges of making such a huge show during a global pandemic, is more than I can handle without the work beginning to suffer. I am genuinely exhausted, and am stepping back to martial my energy towards my own life, which is also at the brink of exciting change. I am deeply proud of the work we have done; I’m grateful to all my extraordinary cast and collaborators, and to HBO for the opportunity to shape yet another strange world. The Nevers is a true labor of love, but after two plus years of labor, love is about all I have to offer. It will never fade."

That sounds reasonable enough — lord knows this year has been hard on everyone — but it’s impossible to hear this news and not think there might be an ulterior motive. For months, Whedon has been under fire from actor Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg in Justice League. Whedon took over directing duties on that movie when original director Zack Snyder had to exit due to a family emergency (Snyder’s retooled version of the movie will come out on HBO Max next year). Specifics are still elusive, but Fisher called Whedon’s behavior on set “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.” He’s been beating the drum on Whedon and other people within WarnerMedia for a while, which resulted in an internal investigation.

Fisher, at least, thinks Whedon’s exit is a result of that investigation, and it doesn’t sound like he intends to let it be the end of the matter:

More on that as it develops.

As for The Nevers, HBO is going forward with it. “We have parted ways with Joss Whedon,” the network confirmed in a statement. “We remain excited about the future of The Nevers and look forward to its premiere in the summer of 2021.”

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