HBO MAX Head Addresses If Justice League Snyder Cut Sets a Precedent For Other Movies

HBO Max was released at the end of May, but the new streaming service had a bit of a lackluster launch. However, they did announce that next year will see the long-awaited release of the “Snyder Cut,” otherwise known as Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Recently, The Verge spoke with the head of HBO Max, Tony Goncalves, and they discussed if the Snyder Cut has set a precedent for other movies and fandoms. The Verge‘s Julia Alexander brought up the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut fandom, pointing out the difference between them and other fandoms. “There’s a difference between that fandom and a Friends or a Harry Potter [fandom], which hasn’t necessarily gone out of their way for three years to demand certain things in the kind of way that the Snyder Cut fandom has.” Alexander brought up how people immediately started asking for a David Ayer cut of Suicide Squad, and asked Goncalves, “What is the precedent that this sets?”

“Look, definitely not a precedent,” Goncalves explained. “And you’re right. There’s different types of fandoms. There’s the fandom you just described, and there’s other fandoms. My reference to the fandoms is the fact that we’re in a space where consumers are loud. Consumers guide, and we absolutely have to listen as industry. I had a boss that once said, ‘Industry and consumers aren’t always aligned, but consumers do tend to win.’ It’s a fine balance. And I think when it comes to video, when it comes to entertainment, when it comes to content, consumers have never had more choice, and they’ve never had more of a voice. But that doesn’t mean that we will go and invest our dollars in every single fandom that exists.”

He added, “But I think the reference to the Snyder Cut and the Friends fandom is the fact that consumers are speaking, and we have to listen. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to go redo every movie ever made. But I think that we definitely have to have our ear to the ground. And I think we do. I just go back to look at the buzz that the Harry Potter library brought us yesterday. It was a wonderful surprise and delight. It’s because consumers are passionate about these franchises.”

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