How bad can Batgirl really be? Warner Bros shocked the entertainment industry last year by canning the practically complete movie, apparently because it simply wasn’t very good. But this is the studio that put out the theatrical cut of Justice League and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, so can it really be such a cinematic nightmare that it must never be seen by the viewing public?
Some are still burning a candle for this lost superhero movie, which would have seen the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman (now arriving in The Flash), Oscar-winning actor Brendan Fraser as Firefly, and J.K. Simmons reprising his role as Commissioner Gordon. But with the writers’ strike now on and the possibility of sudden content drought, could Batgirl be brought back from the dead?
Sadly for stalwart Barbara Gordon fans, replies quickly point out that Warner Bros. is likely now legally prevented from ever releasing Batgirl. Warner Bros. wrote off the costs of production as a tax break, meaning it’s forbidden from profiting from it and thus can never, ever release it. This means it differs from Zack Snyder’s Justice League and the still-unreleased “Ayers Cut” for Suicide Squad, which were alternate versions of fully released movies.
The only route to release would be Warner Bros. paying back the tax write-off, and there’s absolutely no indication it would even dream of doing that.
We still feel bad for everyone involved in Batgirl, who saw years of work flushed away overnight, with star Leslie Grace cruelly denied her first major blockbuster role. Perhaps in the distant future Batgirl may emerge in some form or another, but for now, this is destined to remain locked deep in the Warner Bros. vaults gathering dust.
Published: May 4, 2023 05:12 am