Why ‘Batgirl’ Movie Was Canceled: Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav Hints It Wasn’t Good Enough
Warner Bros. leave Bat girl on Tuesday, though the $90 million film is on track to be completed after the studio began work in 2017.
The series is already set to be an original exclusive to the streaming platform HBO Max, owned by Warner Bros.
But since the studio came under new management last April in a consolidation with Discovery — played by Discovery CEO David Zaslav — the film’s fate remains in the balance.
According to Zaslav, the film – part of the company’s line of intellectual property based on DC comics – was cut simply because it wasn’t good enough.
“We won’t release a movie until it’s ready,” Zaslav said during the company’s run. quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. “We’re not going to release a movie to take in a quarter, and we’re not going to put a movie out unless we believe it.”
But not everyone involved in the film’s production shared Zaslav’s opinion on the film’s merits.
Star
Title Bat girl is actress and singer Leslie Grace, who became famous for her performance in the 2021 musical film In the heights.
Grace, a Dominican, has previously said that she feels her role represent Latinos in a superhero movie both a “great responsibility” and a “great opportunity” and expressed her gratitude for working on the film for a Instagram parcel on Wednesday.
“Following the recent news of our movie ‘Batgirl’, I’m proud of the love, hard work, and intentions all of our incredible cast and tireless crew have put together. into this film over seven months in Scotland,” Grace wrote. “I feel fortunate to have worked among absolute greats and forged lifelong relationships in the process!”
Grace described her experience working on the film as “surreal, crazy, incredible” in a interview with Diversity in April, in which she also mentioned preliminary discussions with the film’s directors about a potential Bat girl next part.
Manager
Belgian director duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have been invited to direct Bat girl in May 2021, and the two said they were “shocked” by the sudden cancellation of the film within a week statement shared on Instagram.
“We are deeply saddened and shocked by this news. We still can’t believe it,” they wrote. “As directors, it is important that our work is shown to audiences, and while the film is far from complete, we hope that fans around the world will have a chance to see and receive the final film. Maybe one day they will go missing. “
Both the director and Grace sign their Instagram posts with the tag #batgirlforlife.
Studio
Discovery of Warner Bros. and CEO Zaslav stated that the film was not of the quality they expected, while New York Postone of the first outlets to report on the film’s malfunction, citing “Hollywood’s top source“Say that the early test screenings of Bat girl performed poorly with the audience.
During his quarterly call with investors, Zaslav reiterated that he had concerns about the quality of the film.
But Bat girlA planned release on a streaming service could also go against a fundamental shift in studio tactics about how big-budget movies and recognizable IPs are released.
Zaslav became CEO of both Warner Bros. and Discovery after a $43 billion deal this spring that puts him in charge of the studio’s assets, which include cable channel HBO, its streaming service and other assets. movies and TV shows Warner has planned.
Zaslav quickly decided on a change in strategy for the studio to pivot content away from streaming services and back into blockbuster theatrical release, after Warner Bros. released all of its films in theaters and streamed via HBO Max at the same timea strategy the studio says will only temporary.
During Warner Bros.’s quarterly call. Discovery, Zaslav says he can’t “find an economic case” for the release of a movie as expensive as Bat girl on streaming.
He also hinted that plans are in the works to turn the studio’s line of DC-related IPs — including Batgirl, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman — into a larger theatrical series and a “10-year episode-only plan.” focus on DC”, similar to the highly successful films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe produced by Marvel Studios.
Register Fortune feature email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews and surveys.
