2 years later, the cancellation of DC’s Batgirl movie feels even harder now

After two years, DC’s decision to cancel Batgirl has aged poorly. DC shocked the superhero community when it announced that its Batgirl Movie was scrapped. The film was directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah and starred Leslie Grace as the titular hero. Although many projects can be canceled in development, Batgirl was almost complete with its production, making the decision more surprising. The film was deemed unreleasable after poor test screenings and Warner Bros. canceled it as a tax evasion to recoup most of its budget.

While BatgirlThe cancellation was disappointing, it was understood that the quality of the movie was more than saving. DC Studios co-chair Peter Safran said via Variety That Batgirls release would have “hurt DC” and “hurt the people involved.” However, DC had a streak of box office flops after the film’s cancellation, making the studio’s judgment of quality more questionable. Joker: Folie a Deux Is another flop that the studio initially had a lot of faith in, but performed well below expectations. Everything that has happened to DC in the last two years makes Batgirls cancellation even harder.

The team behind Batgirl show the movie has clear promise

Batgirl has a wonderful Castle and two proven filmmakers as its directors

The canceled Batgirl Movie has an impressive cast and crewWhich makes it hard to believe that this film could not be released. Besides Grace, the film’s cast included JK Simmons as Jim Gordon, Brendan Fraser as Firefly, and Michael Keaton as Batman. Grace came from her star-making performance in in the heights And would have been excellent as Barbara Gordon. In addition, the directors of this film were already successful outside the film, so it is hard to believe that they made a movie so bad that it had to be scrapped.

Arbi & Fallah joined the superhero genre with Marvel, as they directed the first two episodes of Ms. Marvel. Although it is not the most popular series of the MCU, the directors did an excellent job in establishing the world, tone and Kamala’s relationship with her family. They also revitalized the Bad boys franchise with Bad boys for life And Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Both films were surprise hits for Sony and showcased Arby and Falah’s fantastic vision for action and comedy. It is hard to believe that they have botched Batgirl Unless significant edits are made to their vision.

Joker 2’s greenlight story makes Batgirl’s late cancellation all the weirder

A Joker sequel is not supposed to happen

2019s Joker Made over $1 billion at the worldwide box office. The film was meant to be a one-off but that all changed after it achieved massive success. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the co-head of Warner Bros Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdi were ordered to “Fill a bare closet” by Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav. The studio alienated talent with its Project Popcorn disaster, which happened when the studio put its 2021 slate on Max the same day it hit theaters.

De Luca and Abdi did not have a large slate to work with and saw a Joker Sequel as a guaranteed success. However, HThe film was an exceptional risk for Warner Bros. As it was an R-rated musical, and cost $200 million to produce. The studio elected not to do test screenings, and screened it in Venice, which repeated almost immediately as critics and audiences raved. Joker 2 Especially on its opening weekend. Warner Bros. will get a massive hit with this film and it’s weird to see how delicate the studio was with this film versus the risk-off strategy with this film Batgirl.

Ending the DCEU with Batgirl instead of Aquaman 2 might have created a better finale for the franchise

Batgirl could have ended the DCEU on a more memorable note

Batgirl‘s cancellation was announced in August 2022, a few months before the DCEU’s demise became official. The collapse of the DCEU was disastrous for Warner Bros Black Adam, Shazam: Wrath of the Gods, blue bug, And The bottle All bombed at the box office. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom It did a little better at the box office, but it still received poor reviews and ended the DCEU on a low note. Since the DCEU has already ended, Batgirls release would not have done much to harm the reputation of the studio.

The DCU is starting soon with 2025s SupermanAnd DC’s recent failures haven’t hurt James Gunn’s reputation. It is understood among audiences that these films are separate from the DCU and Batgirl It would not be otherwise. Even if the film is not great, watch it Batgirl And Keaton’s Batman in a film together would have been a better send-off for the DCEU than Aquaman 2. Warner Bros. took a risk on many of its recent DC films, and it’s disappointing that the studio isn’t willing to do the same for Batgirl.

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