Much to the shock of DC fans worldwide, on Tuesday, Warner Bros. decided to shelve the upcoming DCEU movie starring Leslie Grace, Batgirl, which was set to be released later this year. The movie had concluded its filming and was in the final stages of post-production before being canned. Soon after the news broke, Batgirl fans took it to Twitter to reinstate their favorite vigilante film.
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Fans are actively pursuing an online campaign for the film’s release under hashtags #ReleaseTheBatgirlMovie and #SaveTheBatgirlMovie. There has been a lot of bumbling around about the reasons for the cancellation among fans with them weighing in on why the film should be released.
Batgirl was going to be a deeming movie for DCEU
Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah had promised a grim interpretation of Gotham city with a rich cast of Leslie Grace as the iconic crime fighter, Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), Micheal Keaton and JK Simmons reprising their roles as Batman (Bruce Wayne), and Commissioner Jim Gordon, respectively, and Brendan Fraser to be Ted Carson, similar to that of the DC villain Firefly.
Batgirl also hinted to pay homage to the comic books, the animated series of Batman, and the Tim Burton movies.
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The project was approved in 2021 mainly to be released on the online streaming platform, HBO Max, around the same time Warner Bros. merged with Discovery in May, with David Zaslav as its new CEO.
Estimated to have cost around $100 million during its cancellation, Warner Bros. asserts that the decision reflects the strategic shift in its leadership. “Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance”, Warner Bros. adds to their official statement.
The real reason why Batgirl was canceled
Hollywood Reporter conveyed that Zaslav has prioritized cost-cutting measures and is refocusing the company toward traditional theatrical film rather than streaming projects. The film reportedly did not do well in the early screening tests and somewhere the company’s lack of trust in the film led to its cancellation, making it one of the most expensive ones. Nevertheless, fans have rallied behind Leslie Grace and the crew to get Batgirl reinstated.
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Other than Batgirl, three other movies were also developed for streaming release. However, as the company’s motives have shifted, Blue Bettle had a theatrical release, with The Wonder Twins being canceled and the status of the upcoming Black Canary movie to be unknown.
Source: Comic Book Resources
