‘Batgirl’ star Leslie Grace thanks fans for ‘love and belief’ after movie canceled
Days after the “Batgirl” movie was unexpectedly canned by Warner Bros., Leslie Grace is opening up about the journey to nowhere.
Grace was set to star in “Batgirl,” the straight-to-HBO-Max flick that spun off the “Batman” franchise. Tuesday, Warner Bros. officially scrapped the $90-million movie entirely, a rare move for a movie already in post-production.
Warner Bros. recently abandoned plans to release ‘Batgirl’ — starring Leslie Grace and directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah — on HBO Max.
Wednesday, Grace thanked the people who had worked on the movie, along with the fans who had hoped to see it become a reality.
“Querida familia!” she captioned the post. “On the heels of the recent news about our movie ‘Batgirl,’ I am proud of the love, hard work and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over 7 months in Scotland. I feel blessed to have worked among absolute greats and forged relationships for a lifetime in the process! To every Batgirl fan - thank you for the love and belief, allowing me to take on the cape and become, as Babs said best, ‘my own damn hero!’”
In a joint statement, co-directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (who’d previously worked on Disney+’s “Ms. Marvel”) expressed their disappointment, saying they still hoped fans could see the movie one day.
“We still can’t believe it,” the directors said. “As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves. Maybe one day they will insha’Allah.”
The DC film about the superhero sidekick fell short of what the company wanted for its key comic book franchise and no longer fit with the studio’s film strategy, sources said.
A cut of the film tested poorly with audiences, a person familiar with the matter previously told The Times. Test screenings are typically used as a tool to gauge audience reaction and determine what needs to be fixed. But rather than spend additional money on a theatrical campaign, the company decided to shelve the project.
Mothballing “Batgirl” will probably allow the company to take a tax write-off, people familiar with the matter told The Times.
Times staff writer Ryan Faughnder contributed to this report.
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