Following a report that several HBO Max original movies have been cut from the streaming service — including shelving the nearly complete but still unreleased Batgirl film — fans are now mourning the former greatness of the streaming service and its apparent gradual downfall.
We’re not saying outright the future of HBO Max is doomed or anything, but it’s clear from people’s reactions to the recent cuts that a pessimistic view among the fanbase is beginning to take hold. Not only did Warner Bros. shelve Batgirl — a movie estimated to cost more than $70 million to produce — but Variety reported they have also quietly cut other original movies on HBO Max for the past several weeks, including Moonshot, Superintelligence, An American Pickle, Robert Zemeckis’ The Witches remake, Locked Down, and Charm City Kings, as We Got This Covered previously reported.
What’s more, Newsweek reported that there are also rumors floating around among entertainment insiders and journalists that HBO Max itself will eventually be put out to pasture, or possibly be folded into the Discovery Plus streaming service due to the recent merger and regime change that has birthed the newly minted company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
“HBO Max is by far the best of the streamers with a great catalogue of shows and movies – not sure what the thought process here is other than corporate greed,” one Twitter user remarked.
Another commentator said HBO Max was one of her favorite and most used streaming services and wasn’t looking forward to its potentially compromised future.
“If it gets ruined, I will be very upset.”
“HBO Max has turned out to be the best streamer, and yet it appears that this merger resulted in it being taken over by an exec who does not like anything that has been done with it so far,” remarked Rolling Stone critic Alan Sepinwall.
Another Twitter user said that if the rumors are true that WB is ditching all HBO Max scripted content and migrating the entire platform to Discovery Plus, that “might be the single dumbest decision made by any corporation in the streaming age.”
Another Twitter user felt that streaming service was like an injured companion they were trying to revive in their arms.
“HBO MAX STAY WITH ME.”
Another commentator imagined that the news of HBO Max’s speculated downfall would be music to the ears of rival streaming service Netflix, who has been in the red with their profits lately.
“This is such a blow to the filmmakers,” another Twitter user and self-described cinephile remarked.
Another casualty of the HBO Max original slaughter was the animated film Scoob: Holiday Haunt, which similar to Batgirl, never saw a release despite being close to complete.
