'Justice League' director Zack Snyder steps down over family tragedy, Joss Whedon to take over

Zack Snyder, architect of the DC Comics cinematic universe who has been in post-production on Justice League, is stepping away from the project to deal with the death of his daughter, as is his wife, producer Deborah Snyder.

Joss Whedon, who directed Marvel's The Avengers movies, will take over the project, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news Monday.

According to THR, the Snyders' 20-year-old daughter Autumn died by suicide sometime in March. Her death was not previously reported in the press. Snyder told THR that at first he'd considered returning to finish Justice League, which will keep its Nov. 17 release date with Whedon taking the lead.

"I thought it was a cathartic thing to go back to work, to just bury myself and see if that was [the] way through it,” Snyder said in a Monday interview with THR reporter Borys Kit. "The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all-consuming. And in the last two months I’ve come to the realization … I’ve decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me. They are all having a hard time. I’m having a hard time."

Snyder did in fact attempt to soldier on at first, hiring Whedon a little over a month ago to help write additional scenes after showing executives a rough cut of the film, studio sources tell Mashable. Whedon -- who is also developing a Batgirl film for Warners -- will oversee the shooting of those scenes, as well as shepherd the rest of postproduction.

Besides Autumn, the Snyders have been raising a total of seven children, including five from Zack's previous relationships and two they had adopted together. Deborah Snyder said Autumn was a prolific writer who was studying at Sarah Lawrence College and had already completed a sci-fi fantasy novel.

Zack Snyder said he initially hoped to keep the matter private, but that he knew how the internet -- which is sharply divided on his contributions to superhero cinema -- would react to his exiting the project at such a late stage without this context.

"When it became obvious that I needed to take break, I knew there would be narratives created on the internet," he told THR. "They’ll do what they do. The truth it … I’m past caring about that kind of thing now."

If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Here is a list of international resources.