'Batgirl' Cancellation Controversy

Overview

'Batgirl' Cancellation Controversy refers to the backlash to Warner Brothers' decision to not release the movie Batgirl nor Scoob!: Holiday Haunt to theaters or to HBO Max, as was originally planned. The decision shocked industry insiders and fans looking forward to the movie, as Batgirl had a $90 million budget and was in post-production. After a report revealed that Warner Brothers elected to not release Batgirl and write it off in taxes, fans bristled at the perceived insult to the cast and crew of the film in addition to fans anticipating its release.

Background

On August 2nd, 2022, Variety^[1] reported that Warner Brothers had decided to not release Batgirl and Scoob!: Holiday Haunt in theaters nor stream it on HBO Max, effectively canceling the movies. While this initially made readers wonder if the films were perhaps so terrible that Warner Brothers decided against their release, a follow-up Variety^[2] report released hours later revealed that the films were most likely canceled due to penny-pinching on Warner Bros. part.

Variety reported that Batgirl was greenlit under the Warner Bros. regime of Jason Kilar and Ann Sarnoff, who had introduced a controversial plan to release all their films directly to HBO Max during the COVID-19 Pandemic. After David Zaslav took over the company, he reaffirmed the company's commitment to theatrical releases. Batgirl had been received somewhat negatively by test audiences,^[3] suggesting that Warner Bros. may have felt the film would not be worth the additional tens of millions of dollars to market and distribute the film to theaters. Evidently, the company concluded that the most financially sound way to recoup the film's losses would be to write it off in taxes rather than release it on HBO Max or sell it to another distributor.

Developments

After news of the cancellation spread online, several key people involved with the film posted statements expressing their shock and disappointment. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah posted a statement^[4] that read:

"As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves. Maybe one day they will insha’Allah… In any case, as huge fans of Batman since we were little kids, it was a privilege and an honor to have been a part of the DCEU, even if it was for a brief moment. Batgirl for life."

Leslie Grace, who played Batgirl in the canceled movie, wrote:^[5]

On the heels of the recent news about our movie Batgirl, I am proud of the love, hard work and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over 7 months in Scotland. I feel blessed to have worked among absolute greats and forged relationships for a lifetime in the process! To every Batgirl fan -- THANK YOU for the love and belief, allowing me to take on the cape and become, as Babs said best, ‘my own damn hero!’ #Batgirl for life!

Social media users expressed outrage at Warner Bros.' decision. Twitter user @McBDirect^[6] called the decision "insanely disrespectful" to the cast and crew of the film, gaining over 620 retweets and 6,500 likes in two days (shown below, left). Compounding the issue was the fact the company still apparently intends to release The Flash starring Ezra Miller, who has been mired in multiple controversies in recent months. Twitter user @NicholasJLevi^[7] posted a tweet comparing how Warner Bros was handling the two films, gaining over 8,800 retweets and 57,000 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Some Twitter users posted jokes about the situation. User @Benjamincrew1^[8] posted a joke imagining the cancelation was a scheme of 30 Rock's Jack Donaghy, gaining over 2,800 retweets and 24,000 likes (shown below, left). User @SamuelAAdams^[9] posted a joke comparing the cancelation to a scheme by the main character of the film The Producers, a movie in which two scheming Broadway producers attempt to intentionally make a flop Broadway show and run off with the investments.

Search Interest

External References