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On August 2, multiple reports stated that Warner Bros. Discovery had canceled the Batgirl film after it was reportedly in the post-production stage and close to being completed. The reports further mentioned that the movie, which allegedly cost $90 million to make, would not be released on any platform (i.e., neither their HBO Max platform nor a theatrical release).
Following official confirmation from Warner Bros. Discovery that they were shelving the project, fans rallied support for the project online and urged the studio to release it. Amid massive online debate about whether the film should be released, a few individuals questioned why controversial actor Ezra Miller’s upcoming DCEU film The Flash was not canceled.
A tweet from Jimmy Folino #WhoDey - BLM, StopAsianHate (@MrNiceGuy513) raised the point that Batgirl, which starred an actress of color, was canceled but not The Flash, which starred Ezra Miller. The tweet read:
“Ezra Miller assaults 3 women & kidnaps another and is still in hiding, but WB/DC won’t cancel The Flash / Not a good look, at all. “
Why did Warner Bros. Discovery cancel Batgirl but not The Flash?
The film was announced last year in May, when directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were hired for the project. At the time, it was supposed to be released as DC’s new HBO Max original content. The film starred Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon and the titular superhero, with Hollywood veteran Michael Keaton reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Brendan Fraser was also supposed to play the antagonist known as Firefly.
In their official statement, Warner Bros. Discovery stated:
“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 Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts, and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future.”
Meanwhile, publications like Variety stated that the new administration at the studio (after their merger with Discovery) felt that Batgirl would have additional marketing costs to greenlight it for release. The report by Adam B. Vary and Brent Lang mentioned:
“the $30 million to $50 million needed to market it domestically and the tens of millions more needed for a global rollout — could have nearly doubled spending on the film, and insiders say that was a non-starter at a company newly focused on belt-tightening and the bottom line.”
Other possible reasons
It is possible that the new administration managed to bring back Ben Affleck as Batman for more than one project. Recently, Aquaman star Jason Momoa revealed that Affleck would reprise the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom before the actor would appear in The Flash movie.
Previously, it was mentioned that Ben Affleck would be replaced as DCEU’s primary Batman by Michael Keaton and that The Flash movie would soft-reboot the DCEU as well. This aforementioned rumor was first shared by Twitter user MyTimeToShineHell, who claimed to have sourced the information from somebody who had watched The Flash as part of the test audience.
Meanwhile, the Batgirl project would have placed itself after the events of The Flash as the former would have Keaton’s version of the Batman mentor Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl). This recent cancelation fuels the theory that Ben Affleck is back as the DCEU Batman, and this would make it illogical if Keaton were to return in Batgirl.
DC enthusiasts question why The Flash is not canceled
Many DCEU fans took to Twitter to ask why The Flash project was seemingly still scheduled to be released in theaters. They pointed out that Ezra Miller had been involved in numerous altercations in Hawaii, which led to him being arrested multiple times.
It remains to be seen what happens to The Flash project, as the film has already undergone many reshoots, and Miller has been avoiding public appearances after grooming and kidnapping allegations.
While some reports stated that the studio is deliberating the status of The Flash movie, Twitter page FlashFilmNews claimed that director Andy Muschietti’s sister Barbara Muschietti (who is a producer for the film) insinuated that the film was not being axed. The page shared a screenshot of a chat where Muschietti said:
“All is good in Flash land.”
However, there has been no official confirmation yet, so the screenshot and the report should be taken with a grain of salt. It is likely that the film could possibly undergo further reshoots to accommodate the return of Ben Affleck as Batman. Warner Bros. Discovery is unlikely to axe the project as it reportedly has a budget of around $200 million after delays with the pandemic and the reshoots.
