Birds of Prey Uncut Returning to HBO Max

Birds of Prey‘s uncut version will be returning to HBO Max after the fan outcry on social media this weekend. Viewers discovered the cable TV edit of the movie was up on the service, and worries of censorship flooded Twitter. However, an HBO Representative told ScreenRant that it was just a mistake. Somehow, the cable version of the Harley Quinn film found its way onto the service instead of the theatrical version. HBO Max says that it will repost the older version to maintain consistency. For a day on social media though, the conversation around this movie exploded. Screenshots of Birds of Prey were popping up with increased frequency. (Giving viewers an interesting look into what has to be changed to get an R-rated movie onto network television.) Older fans are well-aware of the clever tricks to get that rating down, but a lot of people seemed surprised by the blurring and vocal edits to get rid of some cursing. In the end, it was just a bizarre mistake that fans are happy to not have to worry about any longer.

Last year, director Cathy Yan talked to The Hollywood Reporter about fighting to keep one of the most challenging elements in Birds of Prey. Moments like the one in Roman Sionis’ club are the sort of stuff that would have a hard time making it into a “cable cut.”

“I’ll be honest: We had to fight to keep that scene because it was uncomfortable. It was risky, and we had to fight to keep it at all,” Yan shared. “There are cuts of the movie without it. I’m really glad that we kept it because I think it’s important. I think that a lot of people have been very impacted by that scene.”

She added, “I think it’s a huge turning point for Roman; it’s a huge turning point for Canary, and the way that we shot it was hopefully not about the sexual violence upon the woman. It was more about Roman, what he’s capable of and Canary seeing him for who he really is for the first time. Now, she can fully cut herself off from him, and I thought it was a really important scene. So, we fought for it.”

Are you happy to hear about the theatrical cut of Birds of Prey returning? Let us know down in the comments below!