Since the inception of the Iron Man franchise into film, superhero films have undergone a full blown renaissance. Marvel has been and still is working harder than ever to fulfill the demands of MCU fans, and DC Comics has also elected to revive some of their most iconic works such as Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman films which have been a huge hit with fans. It seems like we get a new superhero project almost every month at this point, but the fans certainly aren’t complaining. Said fans were left upset and confused however when Warner Brothers elected to pull the plug on their new Batgirl film, announcing this week that they will elect to not release the project despite wrapping production recently and even marketing the film.
Another DC Comics title, Batgirl was set to star Leslie Grace as the titular hero and Brendan Fraser as the film’s villain, Firefly. Warner Brothers even invested $90 million into the project, with the COVID-19 pandemic costing the film’s production an extra $15 million. Grace even gave an interview to Variety and talked at length about her excitement to play the role, adding that she feels her work “validates the dreams of other people who look like me, who may feel it’s not an opportunity for them” speaking in regards to her Hispanic heritage. However now the film has been shelved, alongside the upcoming Scooby Doo reboot Scoob! Holiday Haunt, and fans all across the globe are confused as to why Warner Brothers would do such a thing. In their statement, the movie studio had this to say: “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.” It looks like Warner Brothers is just going to have to cut their losses, unless they intend to release the films someday.
This is a strange move to say the least. Warner Brothers invested hundreds of millions of dollars into these projects, just to let them sit on a shelf? Many point towards Warner Brothers new CEO David Zaslav who has been intent on cutting budgets in his new role, and it looks like the aforementioned projects might be his first victims. Fans will simply have to wait and see how this unfolds and if Batgirl ever hits theaters.
