Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav's recent decision to shelve the HBO Max Batgirl movie when it was already so deep into post-production came as a massive surprise to everyone, and resulted in a significant amount of backlash.
At the time, reports that the movie simply wasn't very good did the rounds. Some chalked this up to studio spin, but if comments from DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran are any indication, Batgirl may have been even more of a mess than we'd been led to believe.
During an interview with Variety, Safran was asked about the cancellation, and he didn't hold back when discussing the HBO Max film's overall quality.
"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."
Wow.
Safran did confirm that “Batgirl’s a character that inevitably we will include in our story,” so is there a chance Leslie Grace will get the opportunity to return as Barbara Gordon?
"I spoke to Adil [El Arbi] and Bilall [Fallah] — the directors — last week, we were chatting. We’d love to be in business with all those folks. Christina Hodson wrote it. Some people are already back in business with us. As I said, a lot of talented people were involved, but the film just was not releasable. It would not have been able to compete in the theatrical marketplace; it was built for the small screen. So, again, I think it was not an easy decision, but they made the right decision by shelving it."
We really want to see this movie for ourselves, but the chances of Batgirl ever being released are pretty much non-existent at this stage.
What do you guys make of Safran's comments? Be sure to share your thoughts down below.
ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.