Justice League actor Joe Morton, who plays Cyborg's dad/"inventor" Dr. Silas Stone, informed IGN today during a phone interview that he was part of the Joss Whedon-directed reshoots and also revealed that altering the tone of Cyborg's character was part of the additional filming.
Here's what Morton had to say.
IGN: Did you work on the Joss Whedon portion of filming that's been going on or were you strictly on the Zack Snyder portion of the shoot?
Joe Morton: No, I did some reshoots with Joss.
IGN: Can you say what's different? Is there's any difference in tone?
Morton: Well, the stuff that I had to do were just really small little bits and pieces, nothing necessarily having to do with tone. I know that with Ray [Fisher], the young man who plays Victor, there were some adjustments that they made in terms of the tone of that character. I think what I heard was that there was a need from the studio to lighten up the film in a way, that the film felt too dark. I don't know what that meant in terms of how it actually got translated in terms of the reshoots but that's what I heard. That's what I thought some of the reshoots were about.
Batman (Ben Affleck) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) in Justice League.
IGN: If they do make a Cyborg movie, do you think there is any chance we'll see Silas Stone in there?
Morton: Oh, that's the deal as far as I understand it, that Silas will definitely be part of The Cyborg.
Earlier in the interview, I asked Morton if he felt his casting as Dr. Silas Stone in Justice League was an homage to his role as Dr. Miles Dyson, inventor of Skynet, in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Morton: It feels that way for sure. It feels because I've obviously gained a reputation for the guy who played the scientist who rebuilds something that's not quite human. Frankenstein is what I always thought of Miles was, in a way, the modern day Frankenstein. And I suppose in a certain sense so is Silas Stone.
Joe Morton as Dr. Silas Stone in Justice League.
IGN: So what does Dr. Stone think of what he's done to Victor to help save him? I can't help but think, again, like Terminator's Dyson -- unintended consequences. In this case, though, it seems more benevolent but still unintended consequences.
Morton: I think you're correct. It is unintended consequences and then at first it's not looked upon by Victor as something that's correct. Unlike the other members of the Justice League, Victor has no alias, he has no way of hiding behind another personality or some sort of mask in order to protect themselves. He is very much like Frankenstein [Frankenstein's Creature] again in that there's no disguising who he is. So that what I think ends up happening is that section of the movie and certainly that character, Cyborg, is a metaphor for being The Other. Which is why I'm glad it's being played by -- that I'm playing dad and Victor is a black, young man. Because I think that is the metaphor in a certain way, that it is talking about what it means to be The Other. Even if you have something that you can contribute to society, very often society doesn't view you that way. Because when you are The Other, the first response by the mainstream, if you will, is to ostracize. So I think that's what Victor's fears are. He has to figure out how to overcome before he then eventually becomes benevolent and understands that the powers that he has can be used for great good.
Justice League opens in November.