Batgirl still has a unique notoriety in the superhero space, after the film was suddenly canceled by Warner Bros. Discovery last year. The DC-inspired project had finished production before the plug was pulled due to cost-cutting initiatives, and fans have mourned the work in the film that won’t get to see the light of day. That includes the score composed by Loki and Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s Natalie Holt, and while speaking to ComicBook.com about her work on Season 2 of Marvel’s Loki, she shed some light on what her score would have entailed. Holt also revealed that she reached out to Batman composer Danny Elfman about carrying on the legacy of his Batman theme, which would have been used for Michael Keaton’s return.
“I did sort of do a pass on the score,” Holt explained in our interview, which you can check out above. “I’d scored it all the way through, and I’d spoken to Danny Elfman, actually. I started working on it and Adil and Bilal said ‘We’ve got Michael Keaton here. We want to use his theme from the eighties.’ I was like ‘I’d like to just speak to Danny and see if he’d allow me to sort of work with his theme,’ because I just thought that would be the best way to do it. My agent got in touch with his agent, and we ended up chatting, and that was the first time I spoke to him. He was just so generous and pleased to be asked. And he said ‘It’s so nice that you’re asking permission and that you want to carry on this character’s theme. That feels really good.’ So, yeah, he was really excited for me to be playing around with his material. It’s very sad that it didn’t happen [and that] people didn’t get to hear it. But I’m glad I got to meet Danny Elfman.”
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What Would Batgirl Have Been About?
Batgirlย would have followed the origin story of Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Commissioner James Gordon, who becomes a superhero. Barbara has been a beloved part of the DC Comics canon for years, both as Batgirl and as the technology expert Oracle. The film would have starred Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon, with directing fromย Ms. Marvel‘s Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and a script byย Birds of Preyย andย The Flashย scribe Christina Hodson. The film would have also shown JK Simmons reprising his role as Commissioner James Gordon, and Michael Keaton reprising his role as Bruce Wayne / Batman. Also joining the cast wasย Ivory Aquino as Alysia Yeoh, and Jacob Scipio, Rebecca Front, Corey Johnson, and Ethan Kai cast in currently-unknown roles.
Why Wasย Batgirl Cancelled?
Batgirl was the first of many projects that were canceled or scrapped entirely, with Warner Bros. citing the move as a financial decision, as well as a change in streaming strategy.
“The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max,” a Warner Bros. spokespersonย said in a statement when the cancellation was first confirmed. “Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers ofย Batgirlย andย Scoob! Holiday Hauntย and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future.”
What do you think of Natalie Holt’s new comments about Batgirl‘s score? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
