Despite the mounting rumors that unhappy test audiences could force Warner Bros. to fire Zack Snyder as director of Justice League: Part One, the studio announced him as the film’s helmer. However, a rather disappointing showing at the box office has forced WB to pull back on the number of films they will be releasing, and forcing them to focus more on their franchise tentpoles.

More on the story below.

And things seem to be only getting worse. Not only will Seth Grahame-Smith not direct The Flash, there are reports coming in that WB Execs are at odds with Snyder, and all of these problems are having a ripple effect on everyone involved in the DCEU.

These ongoing problems were first revealed on Birth.Death.Movies, whose sources tell them that “Zack Snyder and Geoff Johns were taken aback at critical and audience reaction to Batman v Superman.” Many had suspected if BvS did not perform to expectations, WB would be forced to either push back Justice League or fire Snyder. They did neither, and announced Justice League would be shooting this month, and that Snyder would be at the helm. At that point, WB could not do anything without hurting BvS’ box office. Had they not confirmed Snyder as director of Justice League: Part One – especially since he was attached to direct long before that, it would have solidified everyone’s worst fears about BvS. So WB had to curb it by confirming Snyder as director. As a result, the site says there are “lots of fights between Snyder and the WB execs, and lots of pressure from Burbank on Snyder, who is shooting in London.”

As aforementioned, these problems have spread across the DCEU with Grahame-Smith departing from directing The Flash due to creative differences. There is also word that James Wan is feeling weary about Aquaman. While we have yet to hear from WB, confirming the news would only do more harm than good. Things can only get worse from here if future DCEU films do not perform or exceed expectations.

On the Wan front, it seems as though the director doesn’t need to worry about his tenure at WB. For one thing, he was able to deliver a bonafide hit with The Conjuring, a film that not only got a sequel, but also a spinoff as well. He is also producing Lights Out. The site adds that Wan will have to determine if he needs the stress that comes with building a cinematic universe.

It should be interesting to see where things go from here. We know that Suicide Squad is being seen as the Guardians of the Galaxy of the DCEU, and critics praised Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, who played Batman and Wonder Woman, respectively. That sort of recognition can only help increase the anticipation and excitement for those two films, which is just the thing WB needs to hear as they continue to move forward with developing the DCEU.

Suicide Squad hits theaters on August 5th, 2016, followed by Wonder Woman opening on June 2nd, 2017, then Justice League: Part One arriving on November 17th, 2017. The Flash is scheduled for a March 16th, 2018 release, and Aquaman is set to surface on July 27th, 2018.

[Source: Birth. Death. Movies.]