Batgirl continues to haunt the DC Universe

Canceled after filming was completed, Batgirl continues to pursue DC almost four years later.

Nearly four years after its cancellation, Batgirl remains a real stone in DC’s shoe.

The feature film carried by Leslie Grace, although entirely shot, never saw the light of day and continues to fuel debate around the decisions taken by Warner Bros. Discovery.

In August 2022, the studio caused astonishment by canceling the release of the film, initially planned for HBO Max. The new boss of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, preferred to use Batgirl as a tax deduction rather than investing more in its post-production. With an estimated budget of 90 million dollars, the film would have allowed the group to benefit from a tax break of around 20 million.

At the time, the new leaders of DC Studios defended the decision. Co-CEO Peter Safran even qualified Batgirl of an “impossible to release” film, believing that it would have harmed DC’s image at a time when he and James Gunn were preparing to relaunch the cinematic universe.

Still, it is difficult to definitively judge a film that the public has never had the opportunity to discover. And, in hindsight, some believe that other recent DC productions have damaged the studio’s reputation more than would have done Batgirl.

The cancellation of the project after the end of filming remains an extremely rare precedent in Hollywood. If a studio can refuse to broadcast a finished film, what message is sent to the artistic world?

Result : Batgirl has become a business that refuses to go away. Nearly four years later, the subject continues to resurface in interviews. Podcast guest Happy Sad ConfusedJK Simmons, who played Commissioner James Gordon in the film, recently called the whole story “a weird “.

“Apparently only one test audience saw it. It wasn’t a bad score. It was clearly a business decision…”

The bitter failure of Supergirl at the box office could also relaunch the debate. The defenders of Batgirl now see it as proof that the film deserved at least a release, even a discreet one, so that the public can judge for themselves. Whether he was good or bad, Batgirl remains today one of the greatest symbols of DC’s recent errors.