Batgirl Star Ivory Aquino Posts Open Letter to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO Asking Him to Reconsider

DC's Batgirl movie got canceled, but both fans and those involved with the film have been reluctant to let it die quietly. The latest twist in the story of Batgirl's demise is that one of the stars of the film – actress Ivory Aquino – has posted an open letter to CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zslav, petitioning him to reconsider the decision to shelve the film. Aquino defends Batfirl as being more than a "woke film" some have labeled it as (due to Grace's casting as a Latina Batgirl), and argues why it would be a majorly successful release for Warner Bros. Discovery. She also gets very personal about what the film meant to her and the rest of the cast and crew – not just their efforts, but the time in their lives it cost. 

The letter from Ivory Aquino is a direct reaction to recent news that Warner Bros. is holding 'funeral screenings' for those who worked on Batgirl, before possibly destroying all footage of it entirely. The rumor is that for the studio to keep Batgirl as a tax write off there can be no possibility of a future release of the footage, so destroying it may be the only way to prove it won't be.

In her full Twitter thread/letter, Ivory Aquino (who played Alysia Yeoh, best friend to Leslie Grace's Barbara Gordon/Batgirl) says the following: 

Dear Mr. Zaslav, I just read an article @THR about supposed 'funeral screenings' of #Batgirl and the possibility afterwards that the film footage would be destroyed.. if this is the case, as one of many who poured our hearts into the making of this movie, I ask that this measure be reconsidered. 

As much as I've tried my best to be strong these past few weeks, I'd find myself crying, for lack of a better term, from grief, and tonight was one of those nights. As much as Batgirl has been labeled a woke film, it simply came together that way because of writing that reflects the world we live in," she says. "For me, more than anything, it is a father-daughter story which hits close to home as my Dad passed a year ago, shortly before I booked this project, and I was hoping it would resonate with other children around the world, grown and not-so-grown, who hold their fathers in the highest esteem and who could see Batgirl as a story of that special bond.

I've found myself not being able to talk about this ordeal with anyone. I realized that no one, apart from those involved with the film, would truly understand what we're feeling. And talking about it with my castmates, I feel, might be akin to rubbing salt on a still-open wound. My heart goes out to @LeslieGrace and our beloved directors and entire crew & cast who spent months dedicating their all to this endeavor. Leslie checked in on me the day we found out of the shelving and only had words of comfort and support. I've dared not ask since if she's spent nights holding back tears like I have because she has had to be the face of our Batgirl family and has had to put on a brave face as a way of taking care of us the way she gracefully steered our film.

Tonight I finally got to talk with a dear friend here about these intense feelings who shared with me an anecdote which helped provide inspiration for this letter to you. They said the head of a company is like one large cog atop increasingly smaller cogs underneath. One seemingly small movement by this large cog may seem relatively tiny, but for those little cogs at the bottom, they can be spinning ten-fold and the effects can be seismic.

I can only endeavor to understand how one feels when tasked with tending to the bottom line like you have. I can't even begin to imagine what one in your position goes through having such great responsibility to attend to," Aquino continues. "I do know and ask, with something like Batgirl that's a product of our hearts and souls, that the little cogs not simply be seen as widgets whose fates are determined by an equation to benefit the bottom line. More than widgets, we are fellow human beings and artists who, when given the chance, can outperform the equation and multiply the bottom line exponentially.

If a month ago, there wasn't a marketing budget for Batgirl, I'd venture to say that that has been taken care of by the turn of events these past few weeks. We've been fortunate to have such amazing supporters since the beginning, from Glasgow where we filmed and from all over the world. Now, more people know about our labor of love and are eager to see the movie. I do hope you get to read this letter. Consider releasing Batgirl. She's always been an underdog and has nowhere to go but up.

Batgirl will not be released in theaters or on HBO Max. 

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