News of the nearly-completed Batgirl movie's cancellation came as a surprise to everyone -- including, according to a recent report, the film's crew.An assistant editor on Batgirl recently spoke anonymously with Portuguese-language film magazine Critical Room about what Batgirl's crew actually knew about the film's cancellation. According to the assistant editor, the answer is basically nothing. The crew was apparently contacted by Warner Bros. and told to halt production on the film pending further updates, and, the next day, news of the cancellation broke on social media. Crew members were not informed of the news ahead of time. Batgirl fan account @BatgirlFilm translated the story for Twitter.
Batgirl was initially announced as an HBO Max-exclusive film before being moved to Warner Bros.' theatrical slate. Recently, the Batgirl film was cancelled entirely following reportedly disastrous test screenings. While poor test screenings and tax write-offs have been cited as potential reasons for Warner Bros. Discovery to ax Batgirl, the studio's official explanation is that the film simply didn't align with its current approach to cinematic adaptations of DC stories.
Batgirl is not the only movie to receive an unexpected and unceremonious cancellation following the merging of Warner Bros. and Discovery. Scoob! Holiday Haunt, a sequel to the 2020 animated Scooby-Doo film Scoob!, was also cut from the studio's release schedule without warning. Scoob! Holiday Haunt and Batgirl were both expected to land sometime in 2022, but neither film is expected to see an actual release.
Following Batgirl's cancellation, fans have speculated on the status of the upcoming DC film The Flash. That film's star, Ezra Miller, has been accused of a wide variety of violent crimes, and many have speculated that the seemingly fiscally conservative heads of Warner Bros. Discovery might be concerned about releasing The Flash​​​​​​​. At the time of writing, The Flash is still expected to make its 2023 release date.
Despite the untimely demise of the Batgirl film, Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly still looking for opportunities to tie the film's star, Leslie Grace, into the DC universe. Grace is reportedly expected to reprise her role as Batgirl in another project.
Source: Critical Room via Twitter