HBO Max Executive: Justice League Snyder Cut’s Release Doesn’t Set a Precedent

While the planned Snyder Cut release of Justice League is a response to fan demand, HBO Max’s overseer doesn’t think it sets a precedent. Tony Goncalves, the CEO of AT&T’s Otter Media division that oversees HBO Max, spoke with The Verge and was asked whether the release of the Snyder Cut in response to the passionate response of fandom sets a bad precedent that could lead to other fandoms being encouraged by the notion that belligerence will make studios cave to fan pressure.

“Look, definitely not a precedent,” Goncalves said. “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 continued, “But I think the reference to the Snyder Cut and the Friends fandom [in regard to the reunion special] 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.”

The Snyder Cut is set to release on HBO Max next year.