A few lucky viewers got to see part of the Justice League Snyder Cut over a week before anyone else.
Easily one of the most anticipated DCEU projects ever, the Justice League Snyder Cut will assemble Zack Snyder’s true vision of the movie gathering the world’s greatest heroes.
But thanks to an HBO Max glitch, some viewers got to see an hour of the movie over a week before its planned premiere.
According to North Carolina native Doug Bass, he was firing up HBO Max to watch Tom and Jerry only to find himself seeing Justice League instead. At first, Bass assumed it was the 2017 version, before quickly realizing it was the infamous Snyder Cut.
“HBO Max, somebody is getting fired,” Bass tweeted with images of Ben Affleck’s Batman. “Tom and Jerry, this is not.”
What sounded like a hoax was confirmed when the Hollywood Reporter’s Ryan Parker reported he too came across the same glitch to catch the film.
Soon others took to Twitter to announce they were also getting the Snyder Cut instead of Tom and Jerry.
HBO confirmed early release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League was a ‘glitch’
According to reports, after an hour, the picture degraded and then cut off.
HBO Max later confirmed the issue as a minor glitch and has since corrected the issue. In a short statement, HBO said: “Zack Snyder’s Justice League was temporarily available on HBO Max, and the error was addressed within minutes.”
Warner Bros also issued takedown notices to remove any images from the film that were being shared online.
Bass is tight-lipped on details but did share that “the CGI finally rivals that of Marvel and you’re gonna love it. That’s all I’m saying. No spoilers. Get excited.”
The timing is ironic as the movie had just released a new promo focusing on Wonder Woman timed for International Women’s Day.
Ray Fisher, who plays Cyborg, got in on the reactions to encourage fans to watch the move on repeat on March 18.
Fisher recently made headlines when he attacked Joss Whedon and Warner Bros over the former’s treatment of him when the writer/director took over reshoots of Justice League after Snyder was forced to drop out following the death of his daughter.
Fisher claimed WarnerMedia has failed to investigate Whedon’s behavior properly. Whedon is also currently embroiled in controversy after accusations emerged of his poor treatment of actors on the set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Was the Justice League leak really an accident?
While glitches in streaming services are common, accidentally releasing one of the biggest named movies around is something else, and generally unheard of.
Major confusion stems from how the four-hour R-rated Justice League cut could possibly have been confused with the family-friendly Tom and Jerry movie.
There are already rumors this was a deliberate leak from someone within Warner Bros, although whether to help or hurt the film’s final release is unsure.
At the moment, it appears to have been simply a glitch, but the unexpected early release showcases yet another bizarre speedbump in Zack Snyder’s Justice League vision finally reaching viewers.
Justice League the Snyder Cut premieres (for real) on HBO Max on March 18.