[
Director Zack Snyder has gone indie after spending his entire career working with major studios on some of their biggest tentpoles. Most recently, Snyder had a semi-successful run with Netflix, but it fizzled out as the streamer recalibrated its operations. Snyder had multiple potential franchises in the works at Netflix, but none of them really took off. Before that, Snyder had a long creative partnership with Warner Bros., where he directed some of the most striking big-budget movies of the 2000s. He was also responsible for creatively overseeing the controversial DC Extended Universe, which has since been rebooted by James Gunn and Peter Safran. Early in his career, following the release of three high-profile titles, Snyder made the surprising decision to pivot to a wholly unexpected project.
That movie is largely overlooked in conversations about Snyder’s career. It’s currently streaming on HBO Max, but not for much longer. The movie in question came after Snyder’s two comic book adaptations for WB — the swords-and-sandals epic 300 and the revisionist superhero movie Watchmen. For his hotly anticipated follow-up, Snyder chose to adapt a children’s novel. What’s more, he decided it should be done via the medium of animation, which he hadn’t experimented with before. The film remains one of only two WB titles that, according to former exec Greg Silverman, lost money for the studio. The other was Sucker Punch.
Here’s How Long You Have Left To Watch Zack Snyder’s Fantasy Movie
We’re talking, of course, about Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole. The movie was released in 2010, just one year after Watchmen divided critics and underperformed at the box office. Legend of the Guardians tells an epic fantasy story reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, but aimed at younger audiences. It received mixed reviews and is currently sitting at a 52% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The website’s consensus reads, “Legend of the Guardians‘ dark tone and dazzling visuals are to be admired, even if they’re ultimately let down by a story that never lives up to its full potential.” Produced on a reported budget of $80 million, the film grossed $140 million worldwide. It featured a stacked voice cast including Helen Mirren, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, and others. You can watch the movie on HBO Max, but only until May 1. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
https://static0.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/zack-snyder.jpg?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop
https://collider.com/zack-snyder-cult-classic-fantasy-epic-legend-of-guardians-owls-of-gahoole-leaving-hbo-max-may-2026/
Rohan Naahar
Almontather Rassoul




