Batgirl Star Leslie Grace Reflects on Filming Cancelled DC Movie

The future of DC’s movies and television shows have evolved a lot as of late, with new efforts to get fans excited about the publisher’s heroes and villains. One of the most surprising decisions concerned the cancellation of Batgirl, which was set to be an HBO Max-exclusive movie. The project had completed filming and was in the stages of post-production when Warner Bros. Discovery elected to shelve it altogether last August, a decision that has been debated about a lot in the months since. In a recent interview with Collider, the film’s titular star, Barbara Gordon / Batgirl actress Leslie Grace, reflected on the journey of filming the project, and praised her co-star, Firefly actor Brendan Fraser.

“I truly had one of [the best] experiences with Batgirl. In terms of the experience of shooting, we were all so excited for people to see a lot of the action, a lot of the practical shots we did with fire. Our movie was full of practical fire, which was really hard to shoot. Brendan [Fraser], our villain, our Firefly, he was just so outstanding and so happy that he’s having this incredible moment—this Brenaissance as everyone says. He’s amazing. He’s one of the kindest people in the world, and I felt so blessed to have him as my sparring partner. We had so many amazing action scenes together where we were beating each other up, but hugging in between takes because he’s just so sweet. So I would’ve loved people to see those moments, but you know what? You have the experience, and you keep on rolling, and I feel so blessed, all in all, that I have those memories and hopefully maybe in some future, some clips will arise and people will get to enjoy a little bit of it. But for now, we’ll just have to keep it going as it going in comic folklore, I guess, with all of our memories and our stories while we can.”

Why was Batgirl cancelled?

Batgirl was directed by Bilall Fallah and Adil 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 were Ivory Aquino as Alysia Yeoh, and Jacob Scipio, Rebecca Front, Corey Johnson, and Ethan Kai cast in currently-unknown roles.

“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. spokesperson 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 of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future.”

What do you think of Leslie Grace’s new comments about Batgirl? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!