Due to DC Extended Universe going through quite a lot of Troubled Production, backlashes from actors and crewmembers were to be expected.
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice:
- Jeremy Irons rather bluntly stated that he felt BvS deserved the negative reviews it got, as he found the movie to be "overstuffed" and convoluted.
- Ben Affleck was upset
over the reaction to the film, especially considering he signed on to escape the stigma of being in Daredevil. However, Affleck clarified that his reaction was with the criticism of the tone and said he was proud of the final product. - Gal Gadot later said that she was not a fan of how Wonder Woman was characterized in the film, as she felt Diana would never turn her back on mankind and stop being a hero. She would go on to say that she felt the solo Wonder Woman (2017) Spin-Off "correct[ed]" that mistake by emphasizing the character's warmth and compassion.
- Henry Cavill admitted that he felt WB had made mistakes with the movie, though he at least praised them for taking risks and trying to do something unique for a superhero film, even if it didn't necessarily work out the way they wanted it to and ended up a "niche" product.
- Suicide Squad (2016):
- Jared Leto complained about how many of his scenes were cut out, and sarcastically wondered if he was even still in the movie during an interview. Some reports claim that he felt he was misled about just how big his part in the movie would be.
- In a much less severe case, David Ayer later said that in hindsight, he should've gone with The Joker as the main villain instead of the Enchantress, as a more grounded threat would've been a much better tonal fit. He also said that he would've liked to give the characters a more deserving plot had he gotten to make the sequel. He also owned up to the Joker's infamously derided "Damaged" tattoo, which he conceded was a "step too far."
- Producer Jon Berg, who joined the DCEU after Batman v Superman, said the film's story was a major letdown, but praised the characters.
- To say the least, no one involved in the creation of the 2017 theatrical cut of the Justice League movie was satisfied with how things turned out, especially given its deeply Troubled Production, which included rewrites to the script, reshoots to certain scenes, and a change in directors.
- When being interviewed about Army of the Dead, original director Zack Snyder said that he won't be "handcuffed" on this one, referring to the Executive Meddling he had to put up with throughout the movie's production. Adding to this is the fact that Snyder also was dealing with a personal tragedy in the form of his adopted daughter committing suicide, which left him sapped of the will to deal with the studio anymore. When asked about the Unintentional Uncanny Valley resulting from the CGI covering up Henry Cavill's facial hair in the final product (Snyder had no involvement in the filming of those scenes) on the social media platform Vero, he said, "We all know it never works".
- Many people involved in the making of the movie expressed disappointment that so little of the material they did for the movie with Snyder ended up in the theatrical cut, including actors Ciarán Hinds and J. K. Simmons, stuntmen Richard Cetrone and Nick McKinless, storyboard artist Jay Oliva, cinematographer Fabian Wagner and production designer Patrick Tatopoulos. Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot had also tweeted in solidarity with the "#ReleaseTheSnyderCut" movement in November 2019.
- When asked about Snyder's untouched and unreleased version of the film, Jason Momoa was quoted saying "It sucks in our business when you can't speak your mind but... Yeah, fuck yeah, I want to see it!" He also wasn't happy with the "talk to fish" lines, as he felt the tongue-in-cheek references to Aquaman's infamous reputation clashed with his and the production's attempts to make the character more badass.
- Joss Whedon, who replaced Snyder as the director in post-production following the latter's exit, apparently wasn't happy with how the main villain Steppenwolf turned out, as he liked a tweet that called him "the worst comic book movie villain of all time". Retrospectively, given how differently Steppenwolf is portrayed in Zack Snyder's Justice League, Whedon didn't like the changes he himself applied to the character. note Steppenwolf's actor, Ciarán Hinds, also was not happy that a lot of the work he did in Snyder's filmed scenes didn't make it to the theatrical version, as Whedon scrapped much of Steppenwolf's character building and backstory.
- In a video where he announced the shaving of his infamously troublesome mustache, Henry Cavill assured everyone that what they're seeing isn't CGI. The notorious screenshot of his mouth also flashed in the ending montage. In November 2019, he stated that "Justice League didn't work".
- Ray Fisher hated having to say the line "Booyah!" for a scene in the reshoots, feeling it reduced Cyborg into a stereotypical black comic relief character. His backlash was only furthered by how large parts of Cyborg's backstory and character arc got cut out of the theatrical version (all of which was restored in the "Snyder Cut" and went on to be one of the most well-received aspects of the movie, even among negative reviewers). Fisher also accused Whedon of abusive behavior towards the cast and crew and creating a toxic work environment, which hasn't helped either. Since then, he's stepped down from his role as Cyborg, and has frequently criticized the studio further.
- Various other DCEU creative staff also expressed disappointment with how the production was handled and how the final movie turned out. This was partly because they developed their movie to pair with Justice League in an organic way only to see multiple things get changed or removed altogether, and partly out of solidarity with Zack Snyder, who helped to get them hired and encouraged their vision. James Wan and Jason Momoa have said Aquaman's solo movie picks up where Snyder's original version of the film ended, while Patty Jenkins said she barely recognized the characters who came from her movie (notably, Diana being more aggressive in the Whedon scenes).
- Producer Deborah Snyder (Zack Snyder's wife and co-manager of their production company The Stone Quarry) and executive producer Christopher Nolan (a good friend of the Snyders) were vocally displeased with how much was changed and both advised Zack to never watch the theatrical cut of the film, with Deborah saying she was sure that seeing it would "break his heart."
- In an interview with Vanity Fair, Chris Terrio called what was done to his script and the film he and Snyder originally envisioned "an act of vandalism", among other shots at the Executive Meddling that plagued this movie and Batman v Superman.
- According to one anonymous WB exec, even the higher-ups did not like the end-product resulting from Whedon's reshoots and rewrites, even if they wouldn't vocally admit it.
"When we got to see what Joss actually did, it was stupefying. The robber on the rooftop — so goofy and awful. The Russian family — so useless and pointless. Everyone knew it. It was so awkward because nobody wanted to admit what a piece of shit it was." - Zack Snyder's Justice League — being a thoroughly beefy Re-Cut of Justice League in the vein of Snyder's original intent — appears to be a project that Warner Bros. wishes they never greenlit. The recut came into existence as a result of immense fan campaigning, increasingly vocal support from creators involved in the 2017 version, as well as the likes of AT&T and WarnerMedia seeking exclusive content to bolster their then-upcoming streaming service, HBO Max, but they began speaking dismissively of the film (if at all) once it was actually completed and released. WB spokesmen have publicly expressed disappointment in the film's metrics (only 36% of HBO Max users finished the entire series), failing its purpose to help drive up subscriptions, and insider reports claim that higher-ups felt like they ended up coming out looking weak, investing millions in service of kowtowing to fanboys who wouldn't bring the returns they were looking for (this alleged unwillingness to admit that they were caving into online pressure would likely explain why they made little to no effort in advertising the cut).
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice:
