The 2019 television film Steven Universe: The Movie won’t be streaming on Warner Bros.’ Max for very much longer.
Steven Universe became immensely popular during its five-season run on Cartoon Network, garnering for its storyline, characters, and especially its LGBTQ+ representation. And despite its status as a “kids’ show,” it had undeniable crossover appeal as many older demographics took notice.
Steven Universe: The Movie, which is set two years after the show’s finale, aired on Cartoon Network and was put on Max (then HBO Max) roughly a year following its debut.
Steven Universe: The Movie Soon Won’t Be on Max
Warner Bros. Discovery announced that Steven Universe: The Movie (and its corresponding sing-a-long version) will be removed from Max on September 30. This may come as a surprise to fans, as WB is the full owner of the rights to the Steven Universe franchise.
The rest of Steven Universe, including the original five seasons and the epilogue series Steven Universe Future, will remain on the platform.
Also slated to make an exit from Max on the same date is director Brad Bird's beloved animated film The Iron Giant from 1999.
Worry Not, Steven Universe Fans
Despite the fact that it will no longer be available to stream following September 30, it doesn’t seem as though Steven Universe: The Movie is being purged from the platform.
For one thing, it’s still available to watch on Hulu. Usually in a content purge, the item in question vanishes from view entirely (see Disney+’s many takedowns of its original movies and shows). HBO Max also performed its own large-scale purge last year.
It’s perhaps more likely that Steven Universe: The Movie is simply cycling off of Max, especially given the end-of-the-month removal date, which is typically when streamers get rid of content.
This wouldn’t even be the only example of Max not giving subscribers access to a Cartoon Network series’ tie-in movie. For instance, every standard episode of the classic Ed, Edd n Eddy is on Max, but 2009’s Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show, the telemovie which served as the cartoon’s conclusion, is nowhere to be found on the service. Additionally, neither are any of the series’ holiday specials.
So, even though Steven Universe: The Movie is making its escape from Max, it’ll still be widely available for viewing through other means. It also stands to reason that it could even be re-added to Max at some point, but that has not been officially confirmed and even if it was, it would likely take a long time to migrate back onto the site.
