Another Huge DC Superhero Movie Is Dead
The wave of Warner Bros Discovery cancelations seems unending, with another DC superhero film about to be in crisis.
In a shocking development on Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery announced it would be shelving the upcoming Batgirl film starring Leslie Grace. The news came out of the blue for both cast and crew with the overall quality of the product said to be part of the reason the film got the axe. Now, Rolling Stone Australia reports that another DC superhero movie is dead, this time, it is Supergirl who will fly no more.
Test screenings of Batgirl are said to have fallen rather flat, with rumors stating that the film was not up to any sort of standard that warrants either the planned HBO Max release or the proposed theatrical release of the film. Allegedly poor quality, plus a growing budget signaled the end for Batgirl, and insiders at Warner Bros. have also said the currently in-development Supergirl film cis next to be canceled. The film was planned as a spin-off from the upcoming The Flash, starring Ezra Miller. Supergirl is set to be introduced in The Flash when it is released in 2023, with actress Sasha Calle portraying the blue-suited heroine.
It should come as no surprise that Supergirl is the next DC superhero project to be retired by the newly cutthroat Warner Bros. Discovery regime and it is likely that it has nothing to do with Batgirl. So far, The Flash has constantly been suffering bad press thanks to its lead actor Ezra Miller. Miller has been embroiled in several criminal charges and allegations over the past year and Warner Bros. has already stated the actor no longer has a future in the DC franchise beyond The Flash. With Miller out of the picture, it is safe to assume any spin-offs related to their lead role will follow suit. It’s worth mentioning that Michael Keaton’s return as Batman in The Flash was also set to be complemented by his appearance as the iconic character in Batgirl.
It looks as if Warner Bros. Discovery is set to make a seismic shift in how they operate the DC franchise of films, which has been nothing short of a convoluted mess in recent times. Whilst the quality of films in the DCEU is of course subjective there’s no escaping the franchise has been fragmented, with Henry Cavill’s Superman benched long before the impending cancellation of Supergirl was even a thought and the Snyderverse dead in the water, despite his iteration of popular characters still having sequels and projects hitting theatres. Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman continue and JK Simmons’ Commissioner Gordon was set to appear in Batgirl. There’s also the case of multiple Batmen running amock in alternate versions of Gotham City. The 2022 release of The Batman (starring Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader) and the 2023 release of The Flash (featuring Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton as the world’s greatest detective) means three Batmen were intended to hit cinema screens in under 18 months.
The DC franchise of films is in need of a factory reset and it looks as if the new hierarchy at Warner Bros. Discovery is prepared to do it. Despite the Batgirl news coming as a devastating blow to its star Leslie Grace and the film’s two directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, it may just well be for the greater good, if the film was as poor as insiders say. If Supergirl follows Batgirl into the Warner Bros leftovers, perhaps that will be for the greater good as well.
