Warner Bros. shelves 'Batgirl' movie after spending €88.5m on production

Warner Bros. shelved the DC film "Batgirl" after it finished shooting on a budget of around €88.5 million, a new report claimed.

The Hollywood Reporter disclosed that this highly unusual move is believed to be due to the change in leadership at the entertainment company. Newly installed Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav wants to refocus Warners on creating theatrical films instead of streaming projects like his predecessor.

The now-scrapped "Batgirl" movie starred "In the Heights" breakout star Leslie Grace as the eponymous character Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, Michael Keaton as Batman, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner James Gordon, and Brendan Fraser as the villain Firefly.

"Bad Boys for Life" and "Ms. Marvel" directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were at the helm of the unreleased movie. "Batgirl" was also originally planned for an HBO Max release.

The project had an initial production budget of €73 million and finished principal photography earlier this year. The film reached €88.5 million in post-production due to COVID-related delays and protocols.

Test screenings were done in anticipation of a late 2022 debut. However, the film was said to be incredibly poorly received that the studio decided to cut its losses and cancel the movie's release altogether.

A Warner Bros. spokesperson said, "The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership's strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max. 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 their respective casts, and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future."

DC fans and moviegoers are in an uproar over the decision to axe "Batgirl" altogether. At the same time, Warner Bros.'s upcoming film "The Flash" is still set to be released next year despite several reported instances of alleged abuse by its lead actor, Ezra Miller.

Some observers questioned this allegedly biased selection and took to Twitter to air out their concerns. Writer Wajahat Ali penned, "Warner Bros cancels Batgirl, but they're all in on The Flash with Ezra Miller. All of this is going to be a disaster."

User @NicholasJLevi provided their commentary about the entertainment company's dubious choice and said, "WB: let's scrap the Batgirl film with a promising young star, Michael Keaton Batman, & Brendan Fraiser as the villain but make absolutely no changes to a Flash film where are star is currently hiding from the police."

Warner Bros. has yet to respond to the fans' reactions after learning that "Batgirl" will never see the light of day.