AT&T’s Otter Media division CEO Tony Goncalves, who heads HBO Max, has defended the decision to release Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
While fans around the world are excited to finally see Zack Snyder’s Justice League and are applauding WB and HBO Max for making it happen, many have concerns about the precedent it sets.
Essentially remaking movies due to fans demanding they do so might be a slippery slope for studios. Numerous other movements have already started, including one for David Ayer’s Suicide Squad.
But speaking to The Verge, AT&T’s Otter Media division CEO Goncalves has defended the decision:
“Look, definitely not a precedent. 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.
SEE ALSO: Zack Snyder’s Justice League will cost way more than $30 million to complete
“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.”
Of course, the way around the issue of setting an unwelcome precedent would be to not drastically alter director’s films in the first place and to trust their vision. So hopefully all this was just lead to studios being more trusting in the first place.
However, it must be said, that when it comes to the Snyder Cut, the changes were made to the film after Snyder had to step away due to a tragic personal issue.
In Justice League, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Justice League is directed by Zack Snyder and features Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta and Robin Wright as General Antiope, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, Amber Heard as Mera, Ciaran Hinds as Steppenwolf and Ray Porter as Darkseid.
