Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to pull the plugs from the release of Batgirl. The film had the duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys For Life) as helmers with Leslie Grace donning the cape. Also, Michael Keaton and Brendan Fraser were set to portray Bruce Wayne/Batman and Firefly in the movie respectively.
The newly scrapped DC project was made on the budget of $80 million. However, the studio spent another $10 million (approx) due to COVID-19 protocols and reshoots. It means that WB will lose nearly $90 million because of cancelling the film’s release.
According to various reports, Batgirl received poor responses in test screenings. Additionally, WB Discovery CEO David Zaslav wants to give top priority to theatrical movies instead of streaming projects. Furthermore, he wants to implement cost-cutting measures to save the studio from facing big financial losses in future. All these reasons resulted in Batgirl’s cancellation.
Apart from the DC project, WB has also shelved ‘Scoob! Holiday Haunt’, an animated feature. This one had a decent budget of around $40 million.
No doubt that the abrupt cancellation of movies or shows will horribly affect the DCEU. Many people strongly believe that the superhero franchise has become a complete joke. Fans wanted to see Keaton reprising his iconic superhero role with Fraser appearing as the villain in the film. Well, that’s not happening now!
Will Batgirl ever see the light of day in future? We don’t know about that. In 2017, Joss Whedon joined the project as writer and director. But he left the film a year later. Then, he was replaced by Adil and Bilall. The directing duo had a lot of heat with them at that time after they revitalised the Bad Boys franchise. As a result, WB offered them the film’s direction.
The cancellation of Batgirl does not mean that Warner Bros Discovery has buried Leslie Grace’s superhero character for good. We may see her appearing in future DCEU projects. Stay tuned for more updates.
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
