Update: An HBO Max representative has since reached out to CinemaBlend to clarify that Nordic viewers are the only consumers impacted by this removal. Zack Snyder's Justice League is still available on the service across Europe and Latin America.
DC Studios is looking towards a new era – one that includes a brand new cinematic universe populated by familiar characters played by new actors. It’s been clear, though, that there’s still a sizable amount of fans who enjoy the outgoing continuity: the DC Extended Universe. It’s for that reason that so many campaigned for Zack Snyder’s Justice League to be finished and released. The film has been available for streaming in different parts of the world since 2021 but, now, HBO Max Europe has apparently removed it from the platform. This has spurred some less-than-thrilled reactions from franchise devotees.
News of this development spread quite quickly due to fans taking to social media over the weekend to express their grievances. While some may not have been so quick to believe that the service would’ve removed the four-hour flick, fans shared screenshots as evidence. One such user who did so while also sending referencing the co-head of DC Studios – James Gunn:
WB finally removed ZSJL from max, mind you this is happening under gunn as the CEO of DC pic.twitter.com/NlCkJLA1jpJuly 15, 2023
It must be noted that as of this writing, we don’t know the exact reason why the movie was taken down and what part James Gunn might’ve played in that decision. What’s interesting, though, is that this comes around the same time that the ZSJL trailer was seemingly removed from YouTube. That stoked speculation that the movie itself was going to be axed from the platform. However, Screen Rant later reached out to the company and received confirmation that the trailer was actually set to private due to a music licensing issue. Despite that, some are still referencing the footage while talking about this most recent move:
Zack Snyder's Justice League removed from the European MAX platform a day after the trailer was removed from YouTube. What are WB doing??? pic.twitter.com/DMY9vfXi0ZJuly 15, 2023
Some folks seem to be taking this personally, with some specifically referencing Zack Snyder and his collaborators. One Twitter user interpreted the corporate decision as a sign of disrespect towards Snyder and co, and didn’t mince words when sharing thoughts:
WTF??? That's extremely petty and another FU to the fans, Snyder and all cast and Crew involved. My subscription is Canceled.
Many, including the 300 filmmaker himself in some respects, campaigned for a while to get his version of Justice League released in its entirety. The “Snyder Cut” was highly coveted by fans, which is probably why some simply seem to be shocked by this most recent turn of events. You can see what another fan had to say about it:
I can't believe they actually did it @wbd has removed Zack Snyder's Justice League from @StreamOnMax Europe... i have never seen anyone this [petty] in my entire life.
Though the movie (which some would argue is canon with The Flash) won’t be pivotal to DC Studios’ big-screen plans moving forward, many still feel strongly about it being preserved. It’s worth noting that it is available, thanks to physical media, in different parts of the world. What one can’t help but wonder now, however, is whether or not other offshoots of the streaming service may follow suit in scrubbing it. That remains to be seen but, based on history, the Snyder faithful will likely continue to speak out if it happens.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is currently still available to stream with a Max subscription in North America. For information on more recent titles, take a look at the schedule of 2023 new movie releases, which includes a couple of upcoming DC movies.
