The makers of Batgirl said Wednesday they were “stunned” by their studio’s decision not to release the nearly completed, $90 million superhero film. Warner Bros. Discovery has chosen to shelve the feature film, already shot, which will not be released in cinemas or on the HBO Max streaming platform, where it was to be available in the United States. Warner cancels the release of the film BatgirlAdaptation of the adventures of the DC Comics character, the film featured Leslie Grace in the leading role, alongside Michael Keaton, who once again donned the mythical Batman costume. “We are saddened and amazed by the news. We still can’t believe it,” Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah posted on Instagram. “As directors, it is essential that our work be shown to the public, and even if the film was far from finished, we would have liked fans around the world to be able to see and understand it,” added the two Belgians. A large part of the post-production work – the stage where, for example, the special effects are added – had already been completed. In a statement on her Instagram account on Wednesday evening, Leslie Grace said she was “proud of the love, hard work and determination that all of our amazing actors and tireless crew put into this film over seven months in Scotland.” . “I feel blessed to have worked among great absolutes and to have at the same time forged relationships for a lifetime”, adds the actress. Collateral victimIn their message, the directors, who notably signed Bad Boys for Life , paid tribute to the “fantastic actors” starring in the film. “Anyway, as big Batman fans since our childhood, it was a privilege and an honor to be a part of [l’univers cinématographique DC], even for a short time. Batgirl forever,” they concluded. The studio’s decision stunned Hollywood, where movie industry insiders assured that such a cancellation was unprecedented for a work that was almost finished – and that cost so many silver. Batgirl seems to have been the collateral victim of a change in strategy after the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery. Warner Bros. had planned to produce films intended to be released directly on the HBO Max platform. But this choice, justified in part by the need to bypass cinemas in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, was not unanimous, and the studios seem to have backtracked after their merger with Discovery. Batgirl would have been considered too expensive for a streaming sector which is tightening its belt but not spectacular enough for the big screen, condemning it to be stored, according to specialists in the field quoted by Variety magazine.
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