Following Zack Snyder's departure from Justice League, the movie continues to take shape. Now under the eye of Joss Whedon, who is overseeing reshoots and the post-production process, Justice League is trimming its fat and slowly taking shape into the movie that will be hitting theaters in November. Recently, part of those changes reportedly included cutting Jessie Eisenberg's Lex Luthor out of the movie. Now, another character has been left on the cutting room floor: Iris West. This means that actress Kiersey Clemons will be sitting this one out.
It sounds like Kiersey Clemons' DCEU debut is happening later than expected. Batman News has learned that Kiersey Clemons' scenes as Iris West in Justice League have been cut from the film. There's no word on how many scenes she appeared in or the specifics of what she did, but there's a good chance that viewers won't see her in the movie come November. If she was cut, then one would assume that she wasn't vital to the movie, which is why the powers that be decided to cut her.
Kiersey Clemons hasn't been able to reveal much about her time on the Justice League set, but she has voiced her excitement at being a part of the movie. When asked about her cameo, Clemons said that the parts introducing Iris were "fucking sick," but we might not see those scenes. Even if Clemons is cut out of the movie, there is always the chance that she could appear in deleted scenes. There is actually some precedence for this in the DCEU. Jena Malone's character was similarly cut out of Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but was added back in for the Ultimate Edition Blu-ray. Given the unique story behind Justice League's filming, I would not be surprised if some sort of extended edition ended up on store shelves.
If Kiersey Clemons has been cut out of Justice League then it'll be a few years before she makes her true debut in the DCEU. Her next scheduled appearance isn't until Flashpoint, the frequently delayed Flash solo movie. That's still a few years away, so we'll have to see if Clemons hangs in there and sticks with the project.
I don't think this is quite a major loss for Justice League. We have little context as to what Iris West's role would have been, but it was likely expanding the world of Barry Allen and doing a bit of legwork for his solo movie. Justice League has also been testing pretty well so far in early screenings. It sounds like the DC blockbuster is tightening up and trying to stand on its own legs without servicing future movies -- no doubt one of the lessons learned from Joss Whedon's time on a different blockbuster superhero film.
Justice League is set to hit theaters on November 17. To learn more about the movie, look through our everything we know so far guide.
