With the cancellation of Batgirl, many have taken to the Internet to express their disappointment and even anger. That is understandable, as the Barbara Gordon character and the Batman brand are very popular. Be that as it is, the current wave of outrage is somewhat perplexing.

Before recently, hype for Batgirl was mild, to say the least. That stemmed mainly from how little there was for the movie in terms of promo images and footage, despite it being supposedly near completion. Only the most ardent DC fans were likely aware of the film, meaning that the current feelings surrounding it ultimately seem rather inorganic.

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Batgirl Wasn't on Many Radars

still from WB's canceled Batgirl featuring Leslie Grace in her suit.

The Batgirl film in its current form didn't start really begin to come together until a few years back, with the directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, only getting chosen to helm the film in May 2021. In fact, the movie's filming didn't finish until earlier this year, even if it felt otherwise. There was also very little promotional imagery, let alone footage for the film, to get the general audience excited about it. The only thing of the sort was a single image featuring actress Leslie Grace in the Batgirl costume.

Many initially liked the suit, as it was highly reminiscent of the one worn by the heroine during her comic book adventures in Burnside. At the same time, some felt that the costume wasn't cinematic enough, with many noting post-cancellation that it looked like something from The CW's Arrowverse shows. Given the still somewhat hefty $90 million budget, this certainly wasn't a great look for a full-blown DC Extended Universe movie. This seeming lack of quality could also explain why there wasn't even so much as a teaser. With all of these marketing materials missing, the average Joe on the street who only knows about superhero movies when they see the trailer for them had no idea that Batgirl was on the way. Never mind that the film tied into a future for the DCEU that's now likely been canceled and would have been incredibly unpopular for fans of the Zack Snyder movies.

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The Circumstances Behind Batgirl Make the Outrage Feel Inorganic

Brendan Fraser in Doom Patrol, Leslie Grace in Batgirl and J.K. Simmons in Justice League.

Given that there was very little hype among the general public for the movie, it would seem that much of the response to Batgirl's cancellation is more than a little manufactured. The film's "announcement" was even random, as there had been no solo Batman movie in the DCEU. Likewise, with nothing established in the universe concerning the more popular Robin, skipping to give Batgirl a movie was incredibly suspect. Some may have even confused the film with The CW series Batwoman, which would have only been bad for the brand.

The unfortunate situation has been made only worse by the number of outlets running the narrative of this being some tragic situation. Numerous DC film projects over the years have failed to materialize, many of which had much more fan excitement surrounding them. Batgirl's cancellation should be seen as a sign that things are turning around for DC at the movies, with David Zaslav and others taking care with what's put on the big screen. It is unfortunate that Batgirl won't see the light of day, but given how little was shown of the film, it's still safe to say that it could have ultimately been for the better.