J.K. Simmons Breaks Silence on DC’s Cancelled Batgirl Movie After $90m Write-Off

Four years after the movie was shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery, J.K. Simmons has opened up on the cancelled Batgirl movie. The project is among DC’s most infamous, having been entirely filmed and then entered into post-production, with a budget of $90 million, before the company decided to pull the plug. The film became a tax write-off to recoup funds rather than being released in theaters or on streaming.

Simmons was set to reprise his role as Commissioner Gordon in the movie, which he’d previously played in Justice League. It starred Leslie Grace in the title role, with Michael Keaton returning as Batman. Speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Simmons was asked about the cancelled Batgirl movie and confirmed he never got to see it, but that he thought it was going to be a fun superhero movie. The full exchange between the pair is below:

Josh Horowitz: “You did you did have a run in DC as well. Do you feel like you were robbed a little bit playing, I mean you get this iconic character, Commissioner Gordon. It was a little bit like snake bit, it feels like, because like Justice League obviously had some issues beyond anyone’s control.”
J.K. Simmons: “Yeah.”
Horowitz: “And this crazy Batgirl thing happens. The last time I spoke to you, you were about to play, you were going to about to do Batgirl.”
Simmons: “Yeah, yeah. That big hit Batgirl.”
Horowitz: “Well, we don’t know. I mean, it’s not, I mean it just, it didn’t exist. Doesn’t exist…”
Simmons: “No, it’s it’s in a vacuum.”
Horowitz: “Did you ever see it?”
Simmons: “It’s bizarre. No. No. Apparently, one test audience saw it, and, you know, it wasn’t like it was like a bad score from the test audience. It was, yeah, it was a whatever business decision obviously, and and then yeah, Justice League where, which was a very small part, yeah, had its own drama attached to it. But then then Zack’s cut—”
Horowitz: “Yes.”
Simmons: “—the director’s cut came out, which the DC fans, you know, really love.”
Horowitz: “Yeah.”
Simmons: “And which is really, you know, a lot of fun. And then yeah, when when when Batgirl came along with Adil [El Arbi] and Bilall [Fallah] and, you know, it was it was an exciting prospect to be part of the origin story of Batgirl. For those who don’t know, Commissioner Gordon’s daughter. Um, and and, yeah, maybe maybe we’ll maybe we’ll never know, the the worldwide audience. And it was and it was—”
Horowitz: “I mean, did you feel like it was a good, I mean it was a good experience? Did you feel like the script was solid? It was…”
Simmons: “Yeah, no. It was, yeah, we really had a good time making it and, you know, thought it was going to be a fun superhero movie and, uh…”
Horowitz: “One of the strangest stories in— (laughs)”
Simmons: “Oh well.”

Why Was Batgirl Cancelled & Does The Character Have A Future In The DCU?

The decision to scrap Batgirl came just a few months after Warner Bros. and Discovery officially merged, and was seen as a cost-cutting measure, with the movie having been planned for release straight to HBO Max, rather than getting a theatrical run. This followed what was supposedly a disappointing test screening, and was seen as a means of recouping some of the outlay, a shift that also impacted other releases, such as Scoob! Holiday Haunt. Rather than spend more money on its release, the tax write-off allowed it to be deducted from its taxable income, which was seen as the more financially viable option. In a statement on Batgirl‘s cancellation at the time, a WBD spokesperson said:

“The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max. 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.”

This was also a different time for DC, and before James Gunn and Peter Safran had taken over. At this point, it was still in the midst of the old DCEU, with the expectation for things to shift with the release of Black Adam and the return of Henry Cavill’s Superman. Keaton was also set to return as Batman in The Flash (2023), and it seems as though it was decided that Batgirl would have complicated those plans. Of course, they went out the window anyway after the failure of Black Adam, with Gunn and Safran taking over later that year. When unveiling their plans for the new DC Universe in early 2023, Safran commented on the Batgirl cancellation, saying:

“On the Batgirl front, it’s not about late in the process of the film getting canceled. I saw the movie, and there are a lot of incredibly talented people in front of and behind the camera on that film. But that film was not releasable, and it happens sometimes. That film was not releasable. I actually think that [president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery David] Zaslav and the team made a very bold and courageous decision to cancel it because it would have hurt DC. It would have hurt those people involved.”

At the same time, Safran did say that Barbara Gordon does have a future in the DCU, noting: “Batgirl’s a character that inevitably we will include in our story.” Quite when that will be, however, remains to be seen. The studio does have Batman: The Brave and the Bold in development, but there is currently no finished script, nor any casting for the Dark Knight. It’s possible Batgirl will be introduced in that movie, but perhaps more likely that it’d be a later sequel that brings characters like Barbara, given the first movie would need to introduce Commissioner Gordon first, so it seems like any appearance is still several years away. Still, that’s a brighter future than the Batgirl movie, which will never see the light of day.

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