Warner Bros./Discovery has announced they are shelving the nearly-finished Batgirl film indefinitely.
The studio has released this official statement, which also confirms the cancellation of other Warner Bros. projects:
The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO [Max. Leslie] Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future.
Warner Bros./Discovery Decision on “Batgirl” And Directors’ Response
The new leadership in question are the new owners of the studio, in particular the new CEO David Zaslav. This past week the studio also announced plans to approach the DC universe in a manner similar to what Marvel Studios has done with the MCU. They foresee a 10-year plan, and clearly Barbara Gordon’s first solo film does not fit in with their vision.
The film, which held a budget of $90 million dollars, was a year one approach to Batgirl which also starred Michael Keaton as The Dark Knight once more, and J.K. Simmons reprising his Justice League role as Commissioner Gordon, Barbara’s father. Brendan Fraser had been cast as Garfield Lyns, aka Firefly, the movie’s antagonist. The film was to have no connection to either the Tim Burton films in which Keaton originally starred, nor the Zack Snyder films. Co-directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah had hoped to deliver a gritty product that paid homage to the comics. At the time of this announcement, the cast and crew had spent several months in Glasgow, Scotland and was in post-production.
Arbi and Fallah released a joint statement in light of these developments:
As to what this 10-year plan is for the DCEU, Warner did not have further comment.
Official Sources – Warner Bros. Releases Official Batgirl Cancellation Explanation (cbr.com)