The upcoming DC feature film starring Michael Keaton and Brendan Fraser has been cancelled by Warner Bros. due to poor reception.
On a scale of 'Suicide Squad' to 'Green Lantern', how bad are we talking? The 'Batgirl' spin-off film has been cancelled forever and fan reaction to the news is one of major disappointment, as you can imagine.
The superhero caper was set to star 'In The Heights' actor Leslie Grace as the titular hero, with Michael Keaton set to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne. J.K. Simmons' Commissioner Gordon was also about to reprise his role from the 'Justice League' films, while Brendan Fraser was also lined up to make his big theatrical return to our screens, playing the antagonist of the action film, a supervillain named Firefly. It sounded great, right?
According to news outlets, the 'Batgirl' film has been cancelled due to extremely poor reception from both test screenings and reception at WB Discovery. This means that the $90-$100 million production, which ceased filming earlier this year, will not get a theatrical release nor will it be a HBO Max creation. Instead, it'll no longer see the light of day, meaning it must have been really bad.
According to The Wrap, WB Discovery determined that in spite of reshoots and more money being injected into the film, it still didn't look how they wanted. 'Batgirl', from 'Bad Boys for Life' and 'Ms. Marvel' filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, wasn't the big blockbuster release they were hoping for - and fans are quite crestfallen about this surprising news.
The blockbuster was expected to release later this year.
Warner Bros. hasn't had an easy ride when it comes to their DC releases. The most recent controversy surrounds the release of 'The Flash', which has been pushed back into 2023. Problematic actor Ezra Miller is the main star of the film, with both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck reprising their Batman roles. Saoirse Monica Jackson from 'Derry Girls' also stars.
