It’s really the only way to watch Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The Ultimate Edition of the film extends the theatrical cut by more than a half an hour, adding in so much more motivation behind Lex Luthor’s (Jesse Eisenberg) devious scheme to pit a paranoid Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) against the alien invader known as Superman (Henry Cavill). When HBO Max launched, only the theatrical version of the film was on the service. Today, justice has been served with the addition of the Ultimate Edition.
And DC fans are losing their minds.
One of the main selling points behind HBO Max, as of late, was the company’s agreement to allow Zack Snyder to complete and air his version of Justice League. It’s a cut of the film that his fanbase fought three years to unearth. So prepping that fanbase for the 2021 release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League by getting the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman on the service makes all the sense in the world.
There’s a lot of talk among Snyder fans, rightfully so, about the “true” visions of his films. Because he has become synonymous with extended Director’s Cuts over the years, be it BvS, Watchmen, Sucker Punch of the Snyder Cut of Justice League. Since the filmmaker usually delivers longer, and usually superior, versions of his stories, many fans of his believed that the Snyder Cut of JL would trump the theatrical cut. We all will find out in 2021.
HBO Max has been finding its way forward, and still has some major wrinkles to iron out. There are certain platforms that don’t carry the service, such as the Amazon Fire Stick or Roku. And it’s not available worldwide.
But as they continue to work out the kinks, they can become a suitable destination for franchise content such as this. DCEU fans will relish the fact that the Ultimate Edition of one of their favorite films is now available on the service. And in one location, they can skip to Wonder Woman, Shazam, Aquaman, Suicide Squad or so much more, because it’s all housed under one location.
Next year, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is expected to deliver the director’s true vision for the superhero ensemble movie that came out in 2017. The story behind that film’s production has a lot of twists and turns (and I’m actually working on a book about the behind-the-scenes struggles of Justice League). But all should be resolved in 2021 when HBO Max allows Snyder to complete his work and deliver it to his patient fanbase.
Are you a subscriber? Did you get HBO Max because of Zack Snyder? And do you plan to check out the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice over this holiday weekend… again?
