The first trailer forZack Snyder’s Justice Leaguewas deleted by MAX, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service formerly known as HBO Max.Zack Snyder’sJustice Leaguebroke the platform’s servers and was a mega-hit overseas. However, WB never released the official numbers, which is likely because WB sees the Snyderverse as a dead end despiteZack Snyder’sJustice Leaguebeing a successfor the streamer. This strategy has led to James Gunn’s franchise reboot, and MAX is going even further by erasing the Snyderverse franchise from its history.RELATED:James Gunn’s DCU Spotlighting Minor Characters is a Trend DC Games Should FollowMAX quietly deleted the reportedly 31 million-viewed trailer forZack Snyder’s Justice Leaguefrom its YouTube channel. The Snyder Cut, which several critics and journalists didn’t believe existed (arguably valid considering additional scenes had to be shot and extensive post-production was required to produce a releasable product), was fought for by fans, Snyder, and the cast and crew. However, it appears that WBD had hoped those critics and journalists were right, as deleting the trailer from its YouTube is certainly a strategy to make fans move on. This continued confusion within the company surroundingWarner Bros and the DC brandis represented by the civil war on the best direction for the DC franchise.
WB Executives, such as Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, wanted to continue the Snyderverse. Others, such as previous executives Toby Emmerich, Walter Hamada, Ann Sarnoff, and current DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, want to start over. This is evident withthe upcoming DCU reboot, in which Gunn seems to be keeping his contributions to the franchise (and Xolo Maridueña’s Blue Beetle) while moving away from anything Snyderverse related. Christopher Nolan, director ofOppenheimer, appeared to be in the former group before switching from WB to Universal, as the director hand-picked Snyder to jumpstart the DCEU withMan of Steel. Producer Deborah Snyder stated Nolan supported the Snyder Cut release, and both had to convince Snyder to never watch the studio version ofJustice Leaguebecause it would “break his heart.”
The first official trailer being deleted from the MAX YouTube page is not a good sign for fans hoping that WBD would restore the Snyderverse since there are still two moreJustice Leaguefilms and various spinoffs planned in Snyder’s overarching DCEU story. This is why some Snyderverse fans have moved on toother avenues to restore the Snyderverse, such as campaigning for the DC IP to be leased to a third party streaming service like Netflix under a non-exclusive license agreement. Deleting the movie’s trailer from its YouTube does not spell good things for its place on the streaming service and offers insight into how WBD feels aboutZack Snyder’s Justice League.
