The Snyder version of ‘Justice League’ is a Warner Bros. bet.

The highly anticipated four-hour director’s version of “Justice League” arrived at HBO Max on Thursday.

Assembled from hours of unused footage and cut along with newly filmed scenes, Snyder’s cut is an anomaly in the entertainment industry. Driven by a fan-driven social media campaign for years, Zack Snyder had a second chance to work out his version of “Justice League”.

WarnerMedia, which is owned by AT&T, saw the fervent crusade for the official version of Snyder’s film as a way of appeasing fervent fans and filling its HBO Max streaming service with exclusive content.

However, the risk is that the “Justice League” may not pay the dividends that WarnerMedia needs. The film sets up sequences that DC fans may never see, which means that even if it manages to attract subscribers for the month of March, there is no promise of new DC-related content on the horizon for the streaming service to keep them going. inscriptions around.

Initial estimates pointed to the price of Snyder’s second take at $ 20 million to $ 30 million, because many of the computer-generated images were not completed. However, more recent estimates suggest that WarnerMedia could have spent $ 70 million or more on the project, as Snyder brought back several actors to film new material. It is unclear whether that figure includes marketing expenditures.

WarnerMedia declined to comment on the financial terms of the project.

The cost could be justified if WarnerMedia uses the film to gain subscribers and encourage enough current subscribers to continue the service, said media and streaming analyst Dan Rayburn.

What can help is that HBO Max has several high profile launches coming to its platform in March and early April. On March 31, “Godzilla v. Kong” arrives at the service, and on April 16, “Mortal Kombat” will be released. Each will spend about a month on HBO Max before going to video on demand for a rental fee.

This strategy of having a constant and consistent flow of new content can help retain subscribers.

And then there are the fans. Although Snyder and DC Films President Walter Hamada said that this updated “Justice League” will not generate spinoffs or automatically create a sequel, the film allows Warner Bros. recover some goodwill.

“I definitely think the fans will be satisfied,” said Erik Davis, editor in chief of Fandango.

Davis, who was able to see the new “Justice League” before its release on HBO Max, said Snyder’s cut is “a much better version of the film”.

The Snyder Cut basically wipes out co-writer and co-director Joss Whedon from the film. Whedon was hired after executives refused to see the initial version of Snyder’s film and took over when Snyder left the project after his daughter’s death.

Whedon reduced Snyder’s 214-minute cut and impregnated him with moments of levity, something that Warner Bros. wanted to imitate the comedy style that was successful in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As Whedon’s version changed Snyder’s work a lot, fans clamored to see the director’s version of “Justice League”, believing it to be the purest version of the film. In May 2020, WarnerMedia granted them that wish and invested in bringing Snyder back to complete it.

While fans will be pleased to finally have the Snyder version, there is a major flaw in Warner Bros. ‘plans to release this film.

When Snyder was developing “Justice League” more than five years ago, the DC Extended Universe was expected to continue expanding with this cast in the same way that the MCU had developed. Solo films would be transformed into team films. Ben Affleck was supposed to have his own standalone film and Snyder was already talking about a “Justice League” sequel.

However, that plan is completely different in 2021. All cameos in Snyder’s version of the film are likely never to be seen by DC fans.

Affleck may be included in the next “Flash” movie, but it is uncertain whether he will wear the hood on any DC project after that. Not to mention that Warner Bros. has already come forward with a new Batman film starring Robert Pattinson, one that does not connect to any of the previous films released by the studio.

As for Superman, Henry Cavill is still attached to the role, but it is unclear when or where the character will appear next.

And Ray Fisher, who played Cyborg, has a strained relationship with the studio. The actor accused Whedon of harassment on the set and an investigation was conducted. Fisher also said harsh things about DC chief Hamada, who he said helped to make Whedon’s actions feasible.

As such, Fisher said he will not be participating in any Hamada-associated films. So, Warner Bros. he would have to reformulate the role if he wanted to bring Cyborg back to the fold for a team film.

Warner Bros. ‘ The decision to finance and launch this new “Justice League” may appease fans, but it does nothing to promote the franchise’s cinematic universe.

Marvel, Disney’s owner, used its Disney + streaming service to expand its theatrical releases. Programs like “WandaVision”, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and “Loki” are all linked directly to the MCU and must be watched to understand all the nuances of the upcoming films.

The Snyder cut does not do that. It exists in a vacuum.

As for the hope that fans will join HBO Max to see the film, increasing the number of subscribers, what matters is the longevity of their interest.

“Is it a good deal? Maybe.” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com. “As a single release, the film may momentarily boost HBO Max subscriptions, but streamers are stronger with episodic and weekly content that keeps casual consumers going back to party after party.”

Robbins noted that “Justice League” is a niche film, in which its demographic of audiences tends to young people and men. So while this is likely to attract DC fans, it may not do much to change the needle in subscriber subscriptions, unless they are attracted to other HBO Max content.

“The ‘Justice League’ alone may not be the answer to the company’s future needs, especially since the DC brand has already started moving in other directions creatively, but it can succeed as a symbolic card for fans,” said Robbins .

AT&T appears to be confident about HBO Max. The company increased its subscriber projections last week to a range between 120 million and 150 million for HBO Max and HBO by the end of 2025.

In October 2019, the company set a goal of reaching 50 million subscribers in the U.S. by 2025, a relatively low level considering the premium cable channel HBO, which already had around 33 million subscribers before the launch of the streaming service.

Still, there seems to be a missed opportunity in the release of “Justice League” before HBO Max expands globally. The platform is expected to launch in about 60 markets outside the United States this year and will launch a low-cost version with advertising in June. The “Justice League” has accumulated most of its $ 658 million in ticket sales internationally. It only raised $ 230 million at the box office in the United States.

WarnerMedia could easily have used the “Justice League” as bait for international releases. Instead, the film, which will be broadcast in high definition by the state, is likely to be the preferred target of international digital pirates.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.