Holy cancellation, Batgirl!
Warner Bros. has shockingly scrapped plans to release a highly anticipated new Batgirl movie starring Leslie Grace and Michael Keaton, despite the fact that it was already filmed and cost around $90 million, according to multiple reports.
The news was first reported by the New York Post and confirmed by several outlets including The Wrap and Variety. Batgirl was originally intended to be released directly to HBO Max, but the DC film will reportedly no longer see the light of day at all.
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Warner Bros. hasn't provided an official explanation. But the film was notably greenlit prior to the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, and Variety noted the studio's new ownership is more focused on theatrical films, as opposed to movies like Batgirl made specifically for HBO Max. A report from The Wrap also said studio executives determined that even after reshoots, the movie "simply did not work," and The Hollywood Reporter said it lacked the "spectacle that audiences come to expect from DC fare."
Still, not releasing Batgirl at all was a stunning and virtually unprecedented decision for such a high-profile movie that had been completely filmed, and according to Deadline, it was in "the final stages of post-production." Alongside Grace starring in the lead role, Michael Keaton was also returning as Batman in the film, and fans were looking forward to seeing Brendan Fraser in a key villain role. With all the uncertainty surrounding The Flash amid star Ezra Miller's legal woes, who would have guessed this would be the DC movie to get scrapped first?
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