DC producer asked Mission: Impossible – Fallout director for a favor
Henry Cavill was at the center of a very strange, undeniably comical controversy last year that the internet quickly dubbed Justache League.
Cavill needed to grow a mustache for Mission: Impossible – Fallout, which didn’t become an issue until Cavill learned Justice League needed intensive reshoots. Cavill, who plays Superman in the film, found himself in a predicament: He could either keep the mustache for Fallout, or would have to shave it for his clean-faced Superman. Cavill kept the mustache, leading Justice League’s editing team to digitally remove the lip crawler in every reshot scene. People noticed the editing, unfortunately, and it became a whole event.
It wasn’t just Warner Bros.’ who faced issues. New information from Fallout director Chris McQuarrie illustrates just how much of a fiasco Cavill’s mustache became for Paramount Studios.
“The suggestion was made through channels that we shave the mustache and Henry could begin to grow the mustache back,” Cavill said on the Empire Podcast. “They [Paramount] would give us the resources to digitally fill in Henry’s mustache — because like it or not, a fake mustache in close-up on a 75mm lens is never going to look like anything but a fake mustache.
Fallout producer Jake Myers was tasked with estimating the cost of replacing the mustache in every scene if Cavill were to shave it. Myers suggested it would cost an additional $3 million in visual effects budget, leading to a bit of a quandary for McQuarrie and Paramount. DC producer Charles Roven even reached out to McQuarrie directly, asking if there was any way to let Cavill shave the ’stache. At one point, McQuarrie offered to take the $3 million hit, and even shut down production on Fallout until Justice League reshoots were over. Paramount executives vehemently denied that offer.
“‘What are you people even talking about?,’” McQuarrie said was one of the responses. “‘There’s no way we’re going to do that.’”
Cavill ended up taking some time to work on the Justice League reshoots, but he kept his lip doily for Fallout. Now, the mustache is nothing more than a beloved relic of film past; a moment that everyone — including Cavill — seem more than happy to talk about.
But McQuarrie’s words act as a stark reminder that facial hair comes with a cost. Be sure you’re dedicated to keeping a $3 million piece of lip fuzz before deciding to grow one for yourself.
Source: Polygon – Full