Zack Snyder’s Final Crisis Thanksgiving Cameo Steals Spotlight From Warner Bros.’ Accidental Upload Of Censored Birds Of Prey To HBO Max

JB Augustine |

Dec 3, 2021

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey (2020), HBO Max

A mistake was made this week when, after temporarily removing the film from their platform, Birds of Prey returned to HBO Max only for fans to discover that Warner Bros. had somehow uploaded the television-safe cut of the film in place of its proper uncensored release.

Even though mature content and harsh language are more acceptable on basic cable these days, Birds of Prey’s television cut stands out amongst the crowd, bleeping the cussing and censoring other bits of suggestive material, including shots of Rene Montoya’s (Rosie Perez) lost-and-found-acquired shirt, which reads, “I shaved my balls for this?”.

Before the mix-up was caught, it trended and was roasted on Twitter, prompting the Head of Comms at WarnerMedia, Johanna Fuentes, to offer a “counterpoint” to everyone’s ridicule.

“We have a version of the film that airs on broadcast cable and the unedited version of the film for streaming which has been up for a year,” said Fuentes, before promising that the film “will be updated on Max.”

Or… counterpoint. We have a version of the film that airs on broadcast cable and the unedited version of the film for streaming which has been up for a year (which the original post on CBR noted). Will be updated on Max.

— Johanna Fuentes (@jfuentes) November 27, 2021

Fuentes later clarified that only the unedited R-rated cut of the film would be the only version of Birds of Prey available on HBO Max, though she did not specify when the update would happen.

Just the original unedited version.

— Johanna Fuentes (@jfuentes) November 27, 2021

BOP’s toned-down edit debuted sooner than expected this year thanks in large part to pandemic lockdown measures ushering the film onto paid Digital VOD only a month after its theatrical run began.

The snafu got even more interesting when, at the same time Birds of Prey began to trend on social media, a Vero post from Zack Snyder began to take away from the DCEU’s female-led spin-off film.

Featuring a photo of a stuffed Thanksgiving turkey with a copy of Grant Morrison’s Absolute Final Crisis sitting behind it, fans hoped this blurry cameo was a cryptic hint that the director was planning – or at least hoping – to return to the DCEU to adapt the graphic novel.

The bookend to DC’s Crisis trilogy, Final Crisis not only features Darkseid finally getting his hands on the elusive Anti-Life Equation and enslaving the Earth, but also the death of Batman – a development which Snyder previously planned for the ending of Justice League 3.

Despite the push from his followers to continue or “Restore the Snyderverse,” the likelihood Warner will do that gets slimmer with time.

Of course, anything is possible, but for now the window appears to be closed.

The possibility of a direct Birds of Prey sequel is even more remote but, that said, if you had an amused reaction to this story – or not – let us know on social media or in the comments down below!