DC fans who have been eagerly awaiting the upcomingBatgirlmovie are in for a huge disappointment.The Wrapis reporting that the movie has effectively been canceled by Warner Bros. The studio apparently has no plans to ever release the movie on either streaming services or theatrically. The decision comes even as the film moves into post-production.
Batgirl, which was set to star Leslie Grace in the title role and be directed byMs. Marveldirecting duo Adil El Arbi and Billal Fallah, had originally been planned as an HBO Max release, before it was hinted thatthe movie would actually get a theatrical run.Now, it appears that neither of those will come to fruition, as the studio ultimately decided that the movie did not fit into their new DC strategy.
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According tothe report fromThe Wrap, Warner wants its DC movies to feel like big event films, andBatgirlwas just not reaching those expectations. This was mostly due to the fact that the movie had not been written or produced in a way that was meant for the big screen. The budget for the movie had also grown to $90 million due to delays mostly caused by COVID. However, the executives at Warner apparently have no ill will toward the directors or stars of the movie, and plan on working with them on future projects.
Along with Grace, the DCEU movie was also set to star Michael Keaton as Batman, similarly to the upcoming Flash movie (which has faced its own set ofproblems related to star Ezra Miller). J.K. Simmons also would have reprised his role as Jim Gordon. Simmons first played the character inJustice League.Brendan Fraser, who has been having something of a career resurgence, was also set to appear as one of the movie’s villains, Firefly.
The decision to cancel an entire movie, especially one that has already been in production, is not one that generally happens in Hollywood. However, with a recent regime change at Warner Bros following Discovery’s acquisition of the studio,CEO David Zaslav stated that his plan was to overhaul Warner’s DC propertiesin order to make them coalesce better than they have in the past. It was understood at the time that this may affect current DC projects, butBatgirlis apparently the first casualty of these business decisions. It may also not bode well fortheBlue Beetlemovie which is currently in productionand is slated for release on HBO Max.
Warner Shared a statement on Batgirl’s cancellation (via Deadline): “The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max. Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers ofBatgirlandScoob! Holiday Hauntand their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future.”
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