“Batgirl,” the feature film adaptation of the DC Comics character, has been killed off at Warner Bros., Variety has confirmed. It will not be released on any studio platform, not in theaters or on HBO Max.
The production, starring Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl) and directed by “Bad Boys for Life” and “Ms. Marvel filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, was greenlit in 2021 as part of a company-wide effort at Warner Bros. to create feature films specifically for HBO Max. But the new corporate regime at Warner Bros. Discovery has shifted the company’s priorities back to theatrical features, leaving “Batgirl” without a suitable home
Also on the chopping block, “Scoob!: Holiday Haunt,” a follow-up to the 2020 film “Scoob!”, has been shelved by the studio. Footage of the animated adaptation of the “Scooby-Doo” series was shown in a reel for HBO Max in December 2021. Sources indicate that the production had cost Warner Bros. 40 million dollars.
Studio insiders insist the decision to scrap “Batgirl” wasn’t driven by the quality of the film or the commitment of the filmmakers, but by a desire to keep the studio’s slate of DC features at a scale of great success. “Batgirl” was budgeted to be shown in homes on HBO Max, and not for a major global release in theaters. The initial production budget of $75 million for the project, which finished principal photography earlier this year and was in post-production, ballooned to $90 million, due in part to delays and protocols related to the covid
The decision is still a shock, as studios almost never drop productions, preferring to get at least some return on their investment. It also occurs when Warner Bros. is still grappling with what to do with “The Flash,” a DC adaptation specifically created and budgeted for a theatrical release in 2023. The film has been dogged by repeated allegations of abuse and misconduct by its star, Ezra Miller.
And it’s not like “Batgirl” was a small movie either. Along with Grace, JK Simmons plays Barbara’s father, Commissioner Jim Gordon, and Michael Keaton reprises his role as Batman (as he also does in “The Flash”). Brendan Fraser plays the villain, Firefly, and Grace told Variety in April that she had preliminary talks with El Arbi and Fallah about what a sequel “could be.”
“There are crazy stunts, crazy drops,” Grace said of the film. “She’s a bike girl, so you’re going to see her doing a lot of rough riding. . . . There were a lot of long days, but it was so worth it.”
The New York Post first reported the decision by Warner Bros. of not releasing “Batgirl”.