The Batgirl movie, which was set to go to HBO Max, is reportedly not being released at all now. The DCEU movie starring Leslie Grace in the titular role finished filming (mostly in Glasgow) in the spring of 2022. Michael Keaton was set to return to his role as Bruce Wayne for the first time since 1992, and JK Simmons was to star as Commissioner Gordon (Batgirl’s father). Brendan Fraser was playing the villain Firefly.
Warner Bros has been taken over by a new regime, who want to cut costs and are apparently no longer prioritising made-for-streaming movies. Batgirl had a reported budget of $90 million, which is obviously a lot, but about half the budget of Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
In further upsetting news, animated feature Scoob! Holiday Haunt! has also reportedly been scrapped, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Insiders say that big budget films made directly for streaming no longer financial make sense under the company’s new strategy. But with Batgirl having already completed filming, it is a surprising move to scrap it at this late stage.
The directors of Batgirl are Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who worked on Ms Marvel. Ivory Aquino was set to play the first trans character in the DCEU. Variety are reporting that the decision was driven by “the desire for the studio’s slate of DC features to be at a blockbuster scale.”
There were unconfirmed rumours that Jurnee Smollett might make a cameo in Batgirl as Black Canary. Set photographs revealed potential connections to Vicki Vale (played by Kim Basinger in Burton’s movies), Jesse Eisenberg’s versions of Lex Luthor, and the Court of Owls – who could potentially have a role to play in Reeves’ next Batman movie.
While we wait to find out exactly what is going on with Batgirl, check out our guide to the best Batman villains.