Warner Bros. released an official statement regarding the abrupt cancellation of the DC Extended Universe movie Batgirl.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, a spokesperson for the company clarified that the move to terminate Barbara Gordon's first live-action film was due to a shift in how it's approaching its cinematic world of superheroes. "The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max," Warner Bros. said. "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."

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The decision to ax Batgirl sent ripples across the DCEU fandom as many began to question Warner Bros. motives. Several insiders suggested that the movie, which sported a budget of approximately $90 million USD, was largely complete to the point that test screenings were actively being held to garner audience feedback. A recent report claims that the project was terminated for a tax write-off, but this has yet to be officially corroborated by Warner Bros.

Batgirl's cast and crew have yet to publically address the film's cancelation but fans have flocked to social media in an attempt to persuade Warner Bros. to release the movie on HBO Max, where it was originally planned to debut. Speaking about the news, an unnamed executive at a rival studio stated that the decision to can Batgirl despite the project's progress was unheard of. "Worked in this town for three decades and this is some unprecedented shit right here," said the executive.

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Batgirl starred Leslie Grace as the titular Barbara Gordon and while details of the movie's plot are still largely unknown, the film was expected to chronicle her origins as the iconic crimefighter. Michael Keaton was confirmed to be reprising his role as Bruce Wayne aka Batman, who fans suspected would serve as Barbara's mentor. Brendan Fraser was also tapped to star as Ted Carson, Batgirl's antagonist who dons a costume very similar to that of DC villain Firefly.

Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah promised fans that their interpretation of Gotham City would be grim yet exciting and colorful in a way that honored the comics. "I think that we're still going to try to have the same visual vibrancy that is our trademark, you could say, and homages to the comic book, homages also to the animated series of Batman, and the Tim Burton movies," El Arbi said.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter