Starting on February 11, HBO Max will no longer have Christopher Nolan’s Batman film series available on its streaming service. This means that, as of now, viewers in areas where HBO Max is supported have only 16 days left to watch some of the greatest superhero movies ever made. In the United Kingdom, you can still watch the film series on Now TV.
The Dark Knight trilogy, comprising of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises, was a major success that brought the Batman franchise back to the big screen after two poorly received films in the mid-90s. The three films together earned a total of $2.46 billion between 2005 and 2012, and received numerous awards and accolades.
Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed Batman films were instrumental in setting the tone for the current trend of grittier, neo-noir detective-style Batman movies. This includes Ben Affleck’s portrayal of Batman in Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Robert Pattinson’s role in 2022’s The Batman. In a review of The Batman, it was called a “stunningly meticulous and tension-filled DCEU movie that doesn’t lose sight of the iconic vigilante’s comic book roots.”
The decision to remove the Dark Knight trilogy from HBO Max is unusual, as the films are not currently available to stream on other popular platforms such as Netflix or Prime Video. It is also unclear where the films will be available to stream after February 11. We also don’t know why the films are being booted from HBO Max, or whether the Dark Night will ever rise again.
The Dark Knight trilogy is not the only superhero-related content that will be leaving HBO Max. Recently, it was announced that two popular HBO Max shows, Titans and Doom Patrol, will be ending after their fourth seasons have aired. Both shows were transitioned to HBO Max after the closure of their original platform, DC Universe, in January 2021. However, despite their popularity, The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the shows will not continue beyond their fourth seasons.
The removal of the Dark Knight trilogy and the end of Titans and Doom Patrol from HBO Max will result in a decrease in the platform’s superhero content. While there are still a variety of superhero movies and shows available to stream on HBO Max, such as Joker, Wonder Woman, and Teen Titans, the loss of Nolan’s critically acclaimed films and popular TV shows is a significant blow to the platform’s offerings. It seems like a questionable move to remove such highly-regarded content from the platform and bring their respective series to an end.
