Kevin Smith Calls for Warner Bros. To Release Justice League Snyder Cut on HBO Max

This weekend was a big one for fans of the so-called Snyder Cut of Justice League. Sunday marked [...]

By Nicole Drum

This weekend was a big one for fans of the so-called Snyder Cut of Justice League. Sunday marked the second anniversary of Justice League's theatrical release and, in that time the film's legacy has been largely defined by two things, its complicated directorial history -- with Joss Whedon coming in to complete the film started by Zack Snyder after he stepped away due to a family tragedy -- and the passionate, fan-driven demand for Snyder's original vision for the film to be released. To mark the anniversary, fans flooded Twitter with support for the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign and now, filmmaker Kevin Smith is also joining those voices of support, though Smith has a suggestion of where he thinks that Snyder Cut should be released: HBO Max.


On Twitter Monday, Smith re-tweeted former Batman actor Ben Affleck's Tweet calling for the release of the Snyder Cut with his own commentary, suggesting that offering Snyder's take on Justice League would be a major subscription draw for WarnerMedia's upcoming HBO Max streaming service. Check it out below.

"Dear @wbpictures: If even Batman is calling for it, it's time to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut! Sounds like it would be a great subscription driver for @hbomax!"

Smith isn't alone in his thought that the Snyder Cut could be a good fit for HBO Max. Artist BossLogic stepped up this weekend to create a fan-made poster for the project, but beyond that support, Smith's point about the Snyder Cut being a subscription driver for the streaming service is a solid one. When HBO Max arrives in May 2020, it will enter a crowded streaming market with Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Apple TV+ and Disney+ already on the scene and, more than that, will do so with a monthly cost on the higher end of the spectrum at $14.99. While HBO Max will have two major draws for subscribers in the form of Friends and The Big Bang Theory -- WarnerMedia paid more than a billion dollars for the two shows to be on the streaming service at launch -- any unique or in-demand content that HBO Max can have will help draw in users and the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement has proven that there is significant interest.

Over the course of the past two years the movement to bring Snyder's version of Justice League to screen has not only trended on Twitter repeatedly, but the community of fans that has sprung up in support of the film crowdfunded a billboard in New York City's Times Square during New York Comic Con, raised enough money to fund a banner flight, a billboard, a bus wrap, an ad in The Hollywood Reporter, and fund a ground team at San Diego Comic-Con this summer. As Sunday's campaign showed, there's celebrity support as well -- major celebrity support. Justice League stars Affleck, Gal Gadot and Ray Fisher all participated in Sunday's campaign as did Aquaman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II along with Marvel stars Dave Bautista and Simu Liu. Snyder himself got involved and pushed for it as well and even before Sunday, Aquaman star Jason Momoa has been pushing for the Snyder cut, declaring recently that the public needs to see it.

"I have seen it. I've seen the Snyder Cut," Momoa told MTV News recently. "I think the public needs to see it. I'm obviously indebted to Warner and DC and I don't how they fell about it, but as a fan, I'm very, very happy I got to see it."

Even with all the good reasons and support, however, Warner Brothers don't appear to be convinced just yet. As we reported on Sunday, the studio has no immediate plans of releasing the Snyder Cut of 2017's Justice League -- even on HBO Max.

Upcoming DC Films movies include Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 on June 5, 2020, The Batman on June 25, 2021, The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021, and Aquaman 2 on December 16, 2022.

Now it's your turn to weigh in: do you think the Snyder Cut should be released on HBO Max? Let us know in the comments below!

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