Holy blocking the bag, Batman! Warner Bros Discovery has announced that they no longer have any plans to release Batgirl, starring Leslie Grace as the title character.
The film, which cost $90 million to make, will not be seen by the public either in theaters or HBO Max, meaning the expensive DCEU film is effectively shelved, according to The Wrap.
The film was originally made under different leadership before Warner Bros.' merger with Discovery, and was originally set to be released on the then-Warner Media's streaming platform.
Later, it was thought to actually go to theaters.
The huge price tag also came from COVID-related expenses, such as issues addressing the pandemic and shutdowns. The film also had reshoots and was seemingly a tortured creative labor, since The Wrap reports that despite the reshoots and expanded budget, studio heads agreed that the film didn’t work. The new management at Warner Bros., including CEO David Zaslav, is said to be committed to making DC projects into theatrical events, something Batgirl apparently didn’t live up to.
Grace originally starred in 'In the Heights,' which was a huge success for Warner Bros., and according to The Wrap, the studio wants to continue working with her as well as directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.
The news has already hit Twitter’s trending topics list, with fans saying how unfair it is for a superhero film with a woman of color at the helm to get canned faster than superhero films starring white leads. This is particularly in light of Warner Bros.’ strange hesitance to fire embattled star Ezra Miller from the title role of The Flash film after allegations of abuse, manipulation and much more.
"You're keeping Miller as The Flash but you cancel Batgirl?! WTF are you even doing," wrote one Twitter user.
You’re keeping Miller as The Flash but you cancel Batgirl?!
WTF are you doing @wbd @warnerbros @hbomax #Batgirl pic.twitter.com/2jTtrbFIfq
— Harry Jordan (@Harry_Jordan_98) August 2, 2022
"Many Batgirl fans have rallied to move this movie from HBO Max to theaters! They intentionally didn’t listen to any of us before making this horrible decision," wrote another. "Batgirl is an event movie as it’s directly connected right to The Flash! Leslie Grace didn’t deserve this."
Many Batgirl fans have rallied to move this movie from HBO Max to theaters! They intentionally didn’t listen to any of us before making this horrible decision! Batgirl is an event movie as it’s directly connected right to The Flash! Leslie Grace didn’t deserve this #SaveBatgirl pic.twitter.com/TY0j36YWkD
— Josh ❤️ Big Brother 24,Ms Marvel #BlackLivesMatter (@supermangeek101) August 2, 2022
Batgirl isn’t the only film getting killed at Warner Bros. According to The Hollywood Reporter, animated film Scoob!: Holiday Haunt is also getting the axe.
