DC's Batgirl Movie Reportedly Shelved, Not Releasing in Theaters or HBO Max
DC has no plans to release its previously-planned Batgirl movie in theaters or on the HBO Max streaming service, according to a new report published by The Wrap on Tuesday. The film, which wrapped production earlier this year, was originally set to be released on the HBO Max, but recent rumors had suggested that it could get a theatrical release. According to The Wrap's reporting, the budget of the film grew to $90 million amid shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the project is ultimately not regarded to be the kind of "theatrical event film" that DC is looking to put out in the future. Still, their report indicates that the studio is "actively planning" to work with the film's star, Leslie Grace, as well as directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi.
"We don't know when Batgirl is coming out," El Arbi previously revealed in a recent interview with Insider. "No one told us nothing about tweaks, just to carry on."
Batgirl was directed by Fallah and El Arbi, with a script written by Christina Hodson. The film would've starred Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl, with JK Simmons reprising his role as Commissioner James Gordon, and Michael Keaton reprising his role as Bruce Wayne / Batman. Also joining the cast was Brendan Fraser as Firefly, Ivory Aquino as Alysia Yeoh, and Jacob Scipio, Rebecca Front, Corey Johnson, and Ethan Kai cast in currently-unknown roles.
"She definitely exceeds what I thought," Grace revealed in an interview earlier this year. "I had to summon up some things in me that I didn't even know were there. It was an incredible learning experience to be on set with also action veterans like Brendan Fraser, and soak up it all up. It was so hard because he's our villain and I'm not supposed to like but he's such a huge teddy bear. He is one of the nicest people that I've ever met. In our fight sequences the way he would just hit marks, it came from all of his experience. You can't improvise that kind of experience. There's some crazy stuff that happens. There's lots of fire because as everyone knows by now, he plays Firefly. There's crazy fire. There's crazy stunts, crazy drops. She's a biker chick, so you're going to see her do a bunch of badassery."
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