The “sadness” in the  DC Carnival of Sadness is normally the kind of sadness that brings about “Nerd Rage.” It’s the kind of thing that makes us disappointed in how iconic characters and fans of those characters are treated.

This is not one of those entries. Director Zack Snyder and his wife, producer Deborah Snyder, are stepping away from the Justice League film following the suicide of their daughter Autmn back in March. The Snyders tried their best to not make this public and had hoped to return to the film after some time to grieve. Understandably their whole family is still coping though, so (with Warner Brothers’ blessing) they are stepping away and leaving the film in the hands of Joss Whedon.

This story is overwhelming honestly. Firstly, I’ve probably been one of the harshest critics of Zack Snyder in more outlets than I care to list right now, but I would never wish this heartache upon him, or any parent. My heart goes out to both Zack and Deborah Snyder right now.

The news of Joss Whedon seems very strange to me. Keep in mind, the movie is in post-production. At this point, while there’s still room to maybe add a scene or do some re-shoots, the tone, story and characters are all pretty much set in stone. It seems like such an odd move to bring in such a big name to direct what is essentially a wrap-up job. Especially to choose a director with a distinct style that doesn’t exactly match the one Snyder is known for.  This is just really weird news — weird and very sad news.

Justice League is still set to open in November, so right now all we can do is wait.