HBO Max boss addresses if releasing the Snyder Cut sets a bad precedent

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Zack Snyder's cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE will become a reality next year on the HBO Max streaming service which is a big win for the fans that have essentially demanded the cut into existence since the release of the theatrical version in November of 2017. It's fan service at its finest and some critics have gone in on Warner Bros. for giving in to sustained fan pressure by choosing to release it. The concern is that it might grant toxic fandoms greater power when it comes to a film's creative direction so the head of HBO Max, Tony Goncalves, spoke about the release and if he thinks it sets a bad precedent moving forward in the industry.

Goncalves spoke with "The Verge", about choosing to release the Snyder Cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE and while he believes that consumers do guide certain decisions, he doesn't believe that studio money will go into pleasing every single fandom that raises their voice:

"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 an 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 of a voice. But that doesn't mean that we will go and invest our dollars in every single fandom that exists."

This question is also being posed because since the announcement of the Snyder Cut, there have been multiple online movements that have sprung up demanding director's cuts of other fan-favorite films. David Ayer wasted no time addressing that his proper cut of SUICIDE SQUAD would take no time to complete while I've seen other demands for new cuts, before the Snyder Cut was officially announced,  of STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER and even Wes Craven's 2005 werewolf film CURSED, which was infamously re-cut and retooled by Dimension Films, has had its own movement rise up for a proper cut. Goncalves believes, while listening to a film or show's passionate fan base is important, it doesn't mean that every film out there is going to get a new director's cut:

"I think the reference to the Snyder Cut and Friends fandom is the fact that consumers are speaking, and we have to listen. It doesn't mean that we're going to 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 think a lot of this will come down to have much traffic is driven to HBO Max when the Snyder cut is released on the service next year. If the trades come out declaring the endeavor a huge hit, I think you may see a lot of these director's cuts spring up. I still think they need to be justified. Would I be interested in Ayer's proper cut of SUICIDE SQUAD? Possibly! He has been pretty vocal about how the film was really changed in post-production due to studio interference but do I need another cut of THE RISE OF SKYWALKER? Probably not. I do think that this release will give fans more confidence that their voices can be heard so I wouldn't be surprised if more campaigns for other films come about but I do hope studios don't bend to every request to re-cut different films because that puts too much power into the hands of the fandom instead of the creative forces driving the project.

Do YOU think the Snyder cut release sets a bad precedent?