Production on Justice League has reportedly gotten underway today in London, but director Zack Snyder is working with a different cinematographer this time around. While Man of Steel was shot by Bad Boys II DP Amir Mokri, Snyder went back to working with frequent collaborator Larry Fong on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Fong has shot every Snyder film aside from Man of Steel, Dawn of the Dead, and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, but now it appears that Fong is also sitting out the DC Superhero team-up film Justice League.

Per The Playlist, Fabian Wagner has been set as the cinematographer for Justice League, marking his biggest project yet. Wagner served as the director of photography on the second season of Sherlock, five episodes of Da Vinci’s Demons, and various episodes of Game of Thrones—including two for the upcoming season—but his most notable feature film credit is last year’s Victor Frankenstein. So yeah, this is a big job for Wagner and a curious move by Snyder.


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Image via Warner Bros.

Whatever you think of his films overall, Snyder is undeniably a brilliant visualist, and he’s proved consistently that he’s able to conjure some pretty iconic imagery throughout his career. However, Batman v Superman felt oddly ugly and messy at times, lacking some of the cohesiveness that made the visuals of Snyder’s previous films pop. So I’m not wholly opposed to Snyder switching things up behind the camera for Justice League, if only to potentially reinvigorate his approach to these superheroes.

And with screenwriter Chris Terrio previously saying this next film will be a bit lighter in tone than Batman v Superman, perhaps Snyder’s just looking to conjure a different visual palette. But it also could simply boil down to scheduling, as Fong is the cinematographer on Kong: Skull Island, which is in the midst of winding down a very lengthy shoot and likely wasn’t available to prep and shoot Justice League as well.

Whatever the case, I’m curious to see how the DC Extended Universe progresses from a visual standpoint, and Wagner marks an unexpected yet somewhat exciting choice. Justice League stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, and Amy Adams opens in theaters on November 17, 2017.

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Image via Warner Bros.

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Image via Warner Bros.
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