Warner Bros. Scraps $90 Million ’Batgirl’ Film in DC Strategy Shift

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were in Morocco to celebrate the marriage of the former with Belgian-Moroccan journalist Loubna Khalkhali when they learned of the cancellation of DC’s Batgirl starring American actress Leslie Grace. In total, $90 million was invested in this project. "The decision not to release Batgirl reflects the strategic shift of our leadership regarding the DC universe and HBO Max," Warner Bros said in an official statement. "Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actress and this decision does not reflect her performance. We are extremely grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and hope to work with everyone again in the near future," the American company added.

Beyond the official reasons given, the cancellation of Batgirl is linked to a rejection of the strategy of the former CEO of WarnerMedia, Jason Kilar, who gave priority to streaming and HBO Max, according to what Deadline knows. According to the publication, the other films should not be abandoned, as the cancellation of Batgirl and Scoob would be partly linked to a financial maneuver that Warner Bros Discovery could use, following the recent changes in management. This would allow it to absorb the losses accumulated by WarnerMedia over the past few years. This opportunity would only be accessible to the studio until mid-August. In addition, the film was not designed as a competitive blockbuster on the big screen and Warner Bros does not intend to spend more on a theatrical release. The cancellation of these two projects would be linked to the studio’s ability to claim a tax deduction, Variety also reports.