This has to be a first, maybe not in all of cinema but definitely in the blockbuster Superhero genre. Warner Bros. has decided to drop their (formerly) upcoming film, Batgirl. It’s not the studio dropping a project that’s rare, it’s the fact that at this point they have a finished film…a $90 million dollar feature film, in the can, that they are just going to shelve.
The New York Post broke the news, reporting that test screenings drove the decision with audiences completely rejecting the film forcing the studio to decide between leaving almost $100 million on the table or risk completely tainting the ‘Batgirl’ name for future use. I can’t imagine the film was really $100 million bad but apparently Warner Bros. does.
Honestly, it stinks that those involved in making the film are going to take the mega-hit from this, especially Leslie Grace (Into the Heights) who was set for this to be her meteroic rise. The truth, I would imagine, is more complicated then poor test screenings. There are some other MAJOR factors at play, not the least of which is that there’s new leadership at Warner Bros since the film was greenlit and made. Of course, the most obvious trigger point is the crap tornado that is Ezra Miller. They’ve seemingly been trying to win the “Biggest D-Bag of the Year” award several times over. The end result of which is a studio who simply can’t afford another bad mark on their reputation.
The biggest injustice here? The Flash movie is still on the schedule with Miller still in the lead. If you can dump a 90 million dollar movie then you can afford to reshoot the Flash movie with Grant Gustin, or literally anyone else, rather then release it with someone that has become the literal antithesis of a hero.
Let’s hope they at least do somewhat right by Leslie Grace and let her wear the cape and cowl as a side character in another film.
