How awesome would it have been if the female-centric Batgirl had been able to make it to the big screen for the fans of DC comics to enjoy? How different would a Batgirl have been in comparison to Batman? Were her powers different from the ones possessed by Batman, or was she less powerful than him?
The fans of DC were dismayed after Warner Bros. pulled the plug on the release of Bat Girl after the initial release date was set to be in 2022. Batgirl is an unreleased superhero film centering around the character of Barbara Gordon, or Batgirl of DC comics. Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the series focuses on the journey of Barbara becoming Batgirl.
Michael Keaton doesn’t appear for more than five scenes in the entire film, and he meets with Batgirl twice throughout the film. Batgirl was also set to reveal that Batman didn’t train Batgirl. She just donned the costume and began saving people after training. Batman also asks Batgirl to stop trying to save people with no training and knowledge.
J.K. Simmons in the character of James Gordon, Gotham City’s Police commissioner. Brendan Fraser in the character of Ted Carson, a veteran turned sociopath, Michael Keaton in the role of Bruce Wayne, Batman, and a wealthy socialite. And Ivory Aquino in the character of Alysia Yeoh, Barbara’s best friend.
Joss Whedon started the development of Batgirl in March 2017, followed by Hodson, who got hired after Whedon walked out of the film. Batgirl’s filming happened in Scotland and Glasgow.
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Why Was Batgirl Cancelled?
Warner Bros. Discovery made the announcement in August of 2022, informing the public about their decision not to release Batgirl anymore, either in theatre or on HBO. The main reason behind the cancellation was that the production felt the film simply didn’t work. This film also went against the vision of the new leader of Warner Bro., David Zaslav.
David envisioned turning DC films into big theatrical event films, and this led to Batgirl becoming one of the most expensive films to be canceled. The test screening for the film was mainly negative. Thus, this may also have been a reason behind the cancellation of the film. The film appeared cheap and tacky, as compared to other DC films, thus turning out to be one of the biggest disappointments for the team.
They felt spending more money during the post-production phase in advertising and marketing would be fruitless. Another reason was the increase in budget for the making of the film as the initial budget set for the film was $70 M, which increased to $90 M, and the production house pulled the plug to cut the cost. Warner Bro made the statement where they claimed that the decision not to release Batgirl was a reflection of their leadership’s strategic shift.
They also claimed that Leslie Grace is an incredibly amazing and talented actress, and the decision not to release the film is not a reflection of Leslie’s performance in the movie. Warner Bros. ended their statement by stating that they were grateful to the filmmaker, Batgirl’s cast, and we are hopeful to collaborate for another project.
He also stated I feel sad as I have seen how good Leslie was in the role of Batgirl. Leslie stated she learned a lot of things while working as the Batgirl, but as an actress, you have no say in the decision made by the board. Grace said the film I got to watch at the screening was incredible, thus contouring Stefan’s claim of a movie being unreleasable.
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