After two years,DC’s decision to cancelBatgirlhas aged poorly. DC shocked the superhero community when it announced that itsBatgirlmovie was scrapped. The film was directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah and starred Leslie Grace as the titular hero. While many projects can get canceled in development,Batgirlwas 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 write-off to make back most of its budget.
WhileBatgirl’s cancelation was disappointing, it was understood that the movie’s quality was beyond saving.DC Studios co-chair Peter Safran said viaVarietythatBatgirl’s release would have “hurt DC” and “hurt those people involved.” However, DC had a streak of box office flops after the film’s cancelation, making the studio’s judgment of quality more questionable.Joker: Folie à deuxis another flopthat the studio initially had plenty of faith in, but performed well below expectations. Everything that’s happened with DC in the last two years makesBatgirl’s cancelation even harsher.
The cancelledBatgirlmovie had an impressive cast and crew, which makes it hard to believe this film couldn’t be released. Besides Grace, the film’s cast included J.K. Simmons as Jim Gordon, Brendan Fraser as Firefly, andMichael Keaton as Batman. Grace was coming off her star-making performance inIn The Heightsand would have been excellent as Barbara Gordon. Additionally, the film’s directors have been successful outside this film, so it’s hard to believe they made a movie so bad that it needed to be scrapped.
Arbi & Fallah have tapped into the superhero genre with Marvel, as they directed the first two episodes ofMs. Marvel. While it wasn’t the MCU’s most popular series, the directors did an excellent job establishing the world, tone, and Kamala’s relationship with her family. They also revitalized theBad Boysfranchise withBad Boys for LifeandBad Boys: Ride or Die.Both films were surprise hits for Sony and showcased Arbi & Fallah’s fantastic vision for action and comedy. It’s tough to believe they botchedBatgirlunless significant edits were made to their vision.
Joker 2’s Greenlight Story Makes Batgirl’s Late Cancelation Look More Bizarre
A Joker Sequel Wasn’t Supposed To Happen
2019’sJokermade 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, Warner Bros. movie studios' co-headsMichael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were ordered to “fill a bare cupboard” by Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav. The studio alienated talent with its Project Popcorn disaster, which was when the studio put its 2021 slate on Max the same day they hit theaters.
10 Reasons Joker: Folie a Deux’s Box Office Is Such A Disaster
Joker: Folie a Deux has fallen short of box office expectations, with a variety of factors contributing to its poor commercial performance.
De Luca and Abdy didn’t have a large slate to work with and saw aJokersequel as a guaranteed success. However, the 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 at Venice, which backfired almost immediately as critics and audiences rippedJoker 2apart on its opening weekend. Warner Bros. will take a massive hit with this film, and it’s bizarre to see how lenient the studio was with this film versus the risk-averse strategy it took withBatgirl.
Batgirl Could Have Ended The DCEU On A More Memorable Note
Batgirl’s cancelation was announced in August 2022, a few months before the DCEU’s demise became official. The DCEU’s collapse was disastrous for Warner Bros. asBlack Adam,Shazam: Fury of the Gods,Blue Beetle,andThe Flashall bombed at the box office.Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomperformed slightly better at the box office, but it still received poor reviews and ended the DCEU on a low note.Since the DCEU was already ending,Batgirl’s release would not have done much to hurt the studio’s reputation.
The DCU is starting soon with 2025’sSuperman, and DC’s recent failures haven’t hurt James Gunn’s reputation. It’s understood among audiences that these films are separate from the DCU andBatgirlwould have been no different. Even if the film wasn’t great, seeingBatgirland Keaton’s Batman in a film together would have been a better send-off for the DCEU thanAquaman 2. Warner Bros. took a risk on many of its recent DC films, and it’s disappointing that the studio wasn’t willing to do the same forBatgirl.
