The Batgirl movie was apparently so bad that Warner Brothers decided not to release the nearly finished film, which was set to be seen in theaters and on a streaming service. Test screenings were done and audiences disliked it so much that the whole project was just canceled.
The film originally had a budget of $70 million, but it ballooned to around $90 million due to the pandemic and COVID-19. All of that money has just gone down the drain because the movie just “did not work,” despite tons of reshoots.
Batgirl was supposed to star Leslie Grace (In the Heights) in the lead role. The movie had a star-studded supporting cast, with J.K Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, Michael Keaton returning as Batman, and Brendan Fraser as the main antagonist Firefly. Fans were especially excited for Micheal Keaton as he played a campier Batman back in the late 80s and early 90s. Brendan Fraser fans also were eager to see Fraser come back to the Hollywood spotlight as a villain. Sadly the cast’s performances will never see the light of day.
Warner Bros. had a recent merger with Discovery, which resulted in new leadership within the company. The decision to ax Batgirl must have been highly influenced by the new CEO David Zaslac. They decided to put the $40 million animated film Scoob!: Holiday Hunt down the drain as well.
DC has been kind of hit and miss with their movies recently. They’ve had some critically successful stuff within their cinematic universe like Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad (2021), and Justice League (Zack Snyder’s cut), but a lot of the other films have been met with either mixed or horrendous reviews. They’ve had more success with standalone films like Joker and The Batman (2022). However, WB’s track record with DC movies probably influenced them to cancel Batgirl, as they might have been afraid to get backlash and further ruin their reputation once again.
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