The previously announced Batgirl movie starring In the Heights actor Leslie Grace, Michael Keaton and Brendan Fraser will not be released at all, Warner Bros Discovery has unexpectedly announced, even though filming has already been completed and the film is in post-production.
Directed by Ms. Marvel directors Adil El Arbi and Bilal Fallah, the film was originally greenlit in 2021 as part of a larger move by Warner Bros. to create feature films specifically for the HBO Max streaming service. But the studio confirmed Tuesday that the film will never be released, either in theaters or on HBO Max.
He declined to provide further comment.
Batgirl was supposed to have Keaton reprise his role as Batman, alongside Grace as the titular character Barbara Gordon, JK Simmons as Barbara’s father, Commissioner Gordon, and Fraser as the villainous Firefly.
The Hollywood Reporter said Batgirl’s budget was a factor in the decision, rising to nearly $90 million (£74.1 million, AU$130 million) due to costs associated with filming it during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the budget was lower than the average DC superhero film, it was decided that it did not have “the spectacle that audiences expect from DC tickets” and would not recoup its losses from the release.
However, the New York Post, which broke the story on Tuesday, cited an unnamed source as saying that the budget actually exceeded $100 million and that the film did so poorly in early test screenings that Warner Bros. decided to cut its losses .
“They think a nondescript Batgirl will be beyond repair,” the source told the New York Post.
A minute after this story was published, I received a call from an executive at a competing studio who was confused by a move. “I’ve worked in this city for three decades and this here is unprecedented.” https://t.co/A3aBLPulWz
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) August 2, 2022
The decision means the film ranks among the most expensive canceled cinematic projects to date.
The move comes amid a change in leadership since Warner Bros. merged with Discovery in May 2021. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who recently led sweeping cuts at CNN, including the $300 million shutdown of the streaming service CNN+, a month after its launch, is reportedly prioritizing cost-cutting and refocusing the studio on theatrical films over streaming projects.
Writing in Variety , Adam B. Vary and Brent Lang noted that the decision to cancel Batgirl entirely would allow the studio to “take a tax write-off,” citing sources who said it was “viewed internally as the most financially sound way to recover of expenses (at least in the ledger)”.
Several shows, including Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, The Last OG and Chad, were canceled following the Warner Bros Discovery merger, while a DC Comics film about The Wonder Twins that was in development was also shelved.
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