Batgirl: Details About Michael Keaton’s Batman Return in Scrapped DC Movie

Holy cancelation, Batman. DC’s Batgirl, which would have starred Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon and Michael Keaton as Batman, will not be released by Warner Bros. in theaters or on HBO Max. Despite being nearly completed at a reported price tag of $90 million, the Batman spinoff developed as a straight-to-streaming movie has been shelved under the new Warner Bros. Discovery regime led by CEO David Zaslav, multiple outlets reported Tuesday. According to The New York Post, which first reported the news, Batgirl tested poorly and was so unsalvagable that the merged company will forego a release in favor of a tax write-down to recoup costs.

The movie was to be an amalgamation of the Burtonverse and the DC Extended Universe, altered by the time-travel events of The Flash movie releasing in theaters next year. While J.K. Simmons reprised his Justice League role as Barbara’s father, Gotham City police Commissioner Jim Gordon, it was Keaton — not Ben Affleck, the Dark Knight of the DCEU — donning the cape and cowl of Batman again after 30 years.

According to ViewerAnon, a reputable insider with knowledge of Warner Bros. and other studio test screenings, Keaton would have appeared in just five scenes in Batgirl. Set photos captured from the Glasgow set of Batgirl showed the Burtonverse Batman back in action and wearing an upgraded version of his suit from 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns. 

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“He didn’t train Barbara, she just dressed up as Batman for a Halloween party, stopped some terrorists, and tweaked the costume to be a superhero,” @ViewerAnon revealed on Twitter, adding: “He meets Barbara twice in costume, first on the street telling her not to do this, then in one of those big Tim Burton-y towers where he helps her with something she needs.”

Batgirl would have ended with the two caped crusaders “teaming up and diving off a gargoyle to fly around Gotham,” according to the report. 

Brendan Fraser, who was to play pyromaniac villain Firely, reportedly tested well with audiences and was “consistently pointed to as the highpoint,” according to ViewerAnon. Simmons was “excellent” in his second turn as Gordon following a brief appearance in 2017’s Justice League (since re-released as filmmaker Zack Snyder’s definitive director’s cut, Zack Snyder’s Justice League). 

Directed by Adil & Bilall from a script by DC’s Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey and The Flash screenwriter Christina Hodson, Batgirl featured a cast that included Jacob Scipio, Ivory Aquino, Rebecca Front, Corey Johnson, and Ethan Kai. The Flash, starring Keaton and Ezra Miller, is currently scheduled to release in theaters on June 23, 2023.