After Ray Fisher of “Justice League” fame, released a public statement essentially turning down his role in the upcoming “The Flash” movie, the actor seemingly got his wish. Fisher reportedly has been written out of the film and the role will not be recast, according to The Wrap.
The move was possibly instigated by a tweet Fisher shared on Dec. 30 in which he railed against Walter Hamada, president of DC Films.
“Walter Hamada is the most dangerous kind of enabler. He lies, and WB PR’s failed Sept. 4th hit-piece sought to undermine the very real issues of the Justice League investigation,” he wrote. “I will not participate in any production associated with him.”
Hamada did not run the “Justice League” production and was not the head of DC Films when the film was released.
However, following the publication of the The Wrap article, Fisher took to his Twitter to clarify the “factually inaccurate” details of the piece and request that the site change its story. Fisher contends that he did not “publicly step down from anything.”
“If @wbpictures has made the decision to remove me from The Flash, rather than address, in any way, Walter Hamada tampering with the JL investigation — that’s on them,” he wrote. “The idea of removing the role, rather than recasting it, is only being used to try to avoid public backlash.”
“The @wbpictures pr team has struggled to regain control of the narrative ever since they failed to bury me and the JL investigation with their September 4th hit piece—which, unsurprisingly, was written by the same reporter(More on WB pr and Johanna Fuentes later…),” he continued.
Fisher asserts that the investigation resulted in Warner Bros. “parting ways,” with Joss Whedon, and he alleges Geoff Johns will be next.
“Had Walter Hamada gotten his way, NONE of that would have been possible, and the cycle of abuse would’ve continued,” he said.
Fisher concluded a series of tweets with a somewhat cryptic message that implies that his dealings with Warner Bros. are not quite over yet.
“My team and I are still in deep conversation with @WarnerMedia regarding all these matters and—Flash or no Flash—we fully intend to see this through.”
In July, he called for an investigation into his allegations of racism and abuse on the set of “Justice League.” Fisher directly singled out director Whedon as a primary perpetrator who encouraged a “gross, abusive, unprofessional” atmosphere while filming.
Other than the film’s original director Zach Snyder — who stepped away from the project before Whedon completed it — co-star Jason Momoa was the only person from the film’s cast or crew who has openly backed Fisher’s claims and condemned their treatment on the set.
“This s–t has to stop and needs to be looked at @ray8fisher and everyone else who experienced what happens under the watch of @wbpictures needs proper investigation,” Momoa wrote in an Instagram post.
He added, “Serious stuff went down. It needs to be investigated and people need to be held accountable.”
In August, Warner Bros. conducted an independent investigation into Fisher’s claims, according to Forbes. Fisher originally supported the action, but in a Sept. 4 Twitter post he slammed the company for pressuring him to “relent.”
“After speaking out about Justice League, I received a phone call from the President of DC Films wherein he attempted to throw Joss Whedon and Jon Berg under the bus in hopes that I would relent on Geoff Johns. I will not,” he said.
That same day, Warner Bros. released a statement rebutting Fisher’s claims, saying that Fisher “failed to provide specific and credible allegations of misconduct,” reported Forbes. The corporation also alleged that despite several attempts to contact him, Fisher had declined an investigator’s attempts to speak with him. The company’s statements from that day appear to constitute the “September 4th hit piece” Fisher alluded to this week.
On Dec. 11, WarnerMedia stated that its investigation into Fisher’s accusations was complete, and that “remedial action” was undertaken, without elaborating on what exactly transpired.
Regardless of Fisher’s standing with Warner Bros., he will be appearing Cyborg in Snyder’s upcoming “Justice League” extended cut. There is no word on whether Fisher will ever return to DC Films.