If it had the potential to perform as well as 2017's "IT" and the upcoming "Shazam!
Fury of the Gods," why didn't "Batgirl" get its chance in the theaters?
There's one fact that no DCEU fan can ever dispute: This universe has changed course
and direction more times than Dom Toretto does in a "Fast and Furious" movie.
Whenever it appears as if a blueprint is laid out for filmmakers to follow, some ancillary
event happens and everything is flipped on its head.
In the case of Batgirl, the original intention was reportedly to introduce her in the film
universe earlier through 2020's "Birds of Prey."
In the comics, Barbara Gordon was a founding member of this team, along with the Black
Canary; however, the remaining members often differed or were rotated out.
Yet in the film adaptation, Babs was nowhere to be found.
"It's great."
Much like other DC films, "Birds of Prey" went through several changes and switcheroos
before Cathy Yan hopped on board as the director.
In the end, Babs didn't make the cut for the team, possibly also due to the fact that no
one knew who the main Batman of the DCEU was at the time, making it a bit tricky to introduce her.
The film's producer, Sue Kroll, deferred Heroic Hollywood's question about why Batgirl wasn't
included in "Birds of Prey" to Warner Bros. Kroll said,
The name Joss Whedon isn't particularly popular in Hollywood or among the DC fandom these days.
While the filmmaker achieved record-breaking success with "The Avengers" for Marvel, he
didn't quite bring the same to "Justice League."
The theatrical cut of the movie was described as something of a Frankenstein's monster via
The Wrap, as his and original director Zack Snyder's vision didn't mesh well at all.
After the whole "Justice League" fiasco, Whedon was still supposed to carry on playing in
the DCEU as the writer and director for "Batgirl" — something that raised more than a few eyebrows.
However, he departed the project in 2018.
When pressed about the reasons for leaving, Whedon told Variety,
For several years after that, a number of allegations about Whedon's behavior towards
the "Justice League" cast spun out in the public sphere.
The filmmaker eventually responded to the criticism, but he is still persona non grata
in the DC film universe.
Even though "Batgirl" had been in development for several years, Leslie Grace wasn't cast
as Barbara Gordon until 2021, according to Deadline.
Naturally, fans spent a lot of time debating who should play the beloved Bat-Family member,
with Jane Levy being a name constantly brought up in conversations.
In fact, the actor even used her Twitter account to throw her name into the ring and drum up
some excitement for herself.
In the end, though, the decision was between Grace and "The White Lotus" actor Haley Lu Richardson.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Richardson opened up about the experience
and about losing out on the role.
She said,
Of course, Simmons reprised his "Justice League" role as Jim Gordon — Batgirl's father in
the film.
The Warner Bros. Discovery deal had a huge impact on the DC Universe.
News of the merger had been in the pipeline for a while, and it created turbulence around
the state of the DCEU since a regime change was on the horizon and no one knew what the
future held.
There were standalone films like Matt Reeves' "The Batman" and Todd Phillips' "Joker," but
the status quo of the DCEU was always uncertain, considering how plans were subject to change
at the drop of a hat.
"What is it with you people!?"
Well, if fans found this whole scenario confusing, they weren't the only ones.
As it turns out, the filmmakers involved in these projects also had no idea what was going on.
"Batgirl" directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah explained to The Direct that they weren't
told which universe their film was set in.
As El Arbi said,
Simmons from the Snyderverse and we got Michael Keaton from the Burtonverse.
What are the odds that Warner Bros. wasn't sure about that either?
The streaming wars are still upon us, and there seems to be no end in sight as various
platforms compete for similar audiences and their subscriptions.
The only way to win this battle is for the streamers to provide the sort of content that
viewers demand.
For HBO Max, the solution was to make platform-exclusive films like "Batgirl," as per The Hollywood Reporter.
While the film didn't have an "Avengers"-like budget of $250 million-plus, it still cost
a reported $90 million to produce, according to TheWrap.
Entertainment reporters Erik Davis and Umberto Gonzalez held a session on Twitter Spaces
where they discussed further details about the movie.
According to Gonzalez, a source described "Batgirl" as looking like something The CW
would have produced.
He recalled,
While that might not be what fans wanted to hear about the film, there's also no disputing
that The CW's Arrowverse was a hit with audiences — even if it didn't feature a massive budget.
Hollywood is like a boulevard of broken dreams.
It sells fantasies, then rips them away just as they're about to come true.
Since there is always the chance that something will be canceled in the pre-production phase,
most people in the film industry don't believe anything until it officially enters production
and the crew is on site.
"Batgirl," however, proved to be one of the greatest anomalies in the history of the business.
Not only was $90 million spent on the film, but it was also deep in post-production before
it received the ax, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The studio issued the following statement about the cancellation:
It also helped the studio receive a significant tax write-off as it embarked on a cost-cutting exercise.
Nonetheless, it shocked the world, as no one had seen such a high-profile project get canceled
so close to the finish line.
An unnamed exec from a rival studio told film reporter Justin Kroll that it was something
they'd never seen in 30 years in the business.
The decision by Warner Bros. Discovery to cancel "Batgirl" blindsided everyone, especially
since the film was practically complete and is part of a popular multimedia franchise.
However, many rumors have since surfaced about what happened behind the scenes that led to
the movie's cancellation — including poor test screening scores.
According to the New York Post, the film wasn't well received by test audiences at all, and
the studio feared that releasing the film would have been irredeemable in the long run.
Instead, Warner Bros. Discovery decided to hit the eject button and ensure "Batgirl"
would never be seen by moviegoers.
"If you won't let me help you, what else can I do?"
That said, there have been conflicting reports about the purported low test scores.
The Hollywood Reporter suggested that the film had only been tested once in front of
an audience and received a rating in the low 60s, which would put it on par with other
films such as 2017's "It" and the upcoming "Shazam!
Fury of the Gods."
It was also still without all its special effects and the bells and whistles of a final
cut, so the people in attendance would have been watching a work-in-progress rather than
a completed version of the film.
When Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug on "Batgirl," it would seem that the right
thing to do would have been to call up the cast and crew and explain the reasons.
That way, they would have all been prepared for when the news broke in the media and all
the questions were fired in their direction.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the path the studio chose, leaving the crew just as surprised
by the film's cancellation as everyone else.
"I can't believe this is happening."
According to Critical Room, the crew was reportedly informed by the studio to stop working on
the film and wait for further instructions.
However, the very next day, they found out that "Batgirl" was canceled via social media
— at the same time as everyone else.
Considering all the work they had done on the movie, and with no indication that a cancellation
was in the cards, this must have been the worst kind of surprise for everyone who poured
their blood, sweat, and tears into the project.
As soon as the news was officially announced that "Batgirl" was done for, there was a somberness
in the air — both from fans and the people who worked on the film.
The sadness rippled across social media, as it felt like the loss of a loved one or friend.
"Batgirl" was dead and buried, and nothing was going to bring this film back from the grave.
To close out the saga, Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly held a screening for the cast and
crew, unofficially dubbed "the funeral screening," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It allowed everyone who was involved with the movie one last chance to see the project
that they had worked so hard on.
After the film was shown, it was locked away in the archives — never to be discussed
or seen again.
It would be interesting to find out if everyone wore black to the event and brought wreaths.
After the drama of "Zack Snyder's Justice League" and the vocal fandom that publicly
targeted Warner Bros., the studio was forced to move in the direction of the release of
the Snyder Cut.
But it didn't seem like Warner Bros. was in the mood for round two of that whole ordeal
for "Batgirl."
As soon as the news broke that the film was canceled, the fans started to rally on Twitter
to see if they could get another movement going to save Barbara Gordon's solo movie.
Unfortunately, it appears as if the studio wised up from the last time and prevented
the directors from even teasing the possibility of it happening in the future.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Adil El Arbi and Billal Fallah confirmed that the
film couldn't be released as is, since it required a few more pickup shots and the addition
of visual effects.
However, they wouldn't be able to do so even if they wanted to because they were locked
out of accessing the footage.
Fallah said,
I went on the server and everything was blocked."
It sounds like Warner Bros. isn't messing around and "Batgirl" isn't going to see the
light of day — at least not any day soon.