Warner Bros. Discovery apparently has chosen not to release the nearly finished Batgirl film either on their HBO Max streaming service or theatrically.
The film stars Leslie Grace (In The Heights) in the title role of Barbara Gordon. The was intended to be an installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and cost nearly $90 million. Batgirl was directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah from a screenplay by Christina Hodson alongside Grace is J. K. Simmons, Jacob Scipio, Brendan Fraser, and Michael Keaton.
The studio just simply has decided to move-on from the project, even after many reshoots and increased budgets, as the film “just did not work,” according to insiders. There were rumors swirling earlier in 2022 Warner Bros. Discovery had talked about changing the release from HBO Max to a wide theater release, but that isn’t happening now.
First appearing in Batman #139 (April 1961) she was created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff (as Bat-Girl). Barbara Gordon as the more famously known Batgirl first appeared in Detective Comics #359 (January 1967) by writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino as police commissioner James Gordon’s daughter.
Things are definitely getting the shake-up over at Warner Bros. Discovery and Batgirl was one of the unfortunate films on the chopping block. This fate was also decided for “Scoob!: Holiday Haunt” that had a $40 million budget. The tax write-off might be worth more the new heads of the company.
More rumors are circulating around the internet of the possible end of HBO Max or the service being absorbed into Discover Plus. The original thought was that Discovery Plus would be absorbed into HBO Max, but not the case. The higher-ups have decided on more unscripted content and avoiding scripted shows and movies. Keep an eye out.
Next up for Warner Bros. Discovery’s DCEU is Dwayne Johnson‘s Black Adam on October 21, 2022, followed by Shazam! Fury of the Gods on December 21, 2022. Kicking-off the 2023 slate is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on March 17, 2023.
