Fresh off the heels of directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah expressing their disappointment that Warner Bros Discovery scrapped the nearly finished Batgirl movie, the film’s star Leslie Grace has broken her silence on the matter. The film would’ve been a massive break for the actress, but she is handling the news with the poise and grace of a complete professional.
Grace took to her Instagram and released the following statement:
“Querida familia! 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!” Batgirl for life!”
Despite holding her head high, this has to hurt because of all the hard work she put into the role. Grace won the part of Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, after an extensive final round of casting that included Isabella Merced, Zoey Deutch, and Haley Lu Richardson. Grace gained the attention of critics and audiences after her role in playing Nina Rosario in the musical adaptation, In the Heights.
The more the news of the film being scrapped begins to simmer, the more of a head-scratching move it appears to be. Warner Bros Discovery calls it a “purchase accounting” maneuver because it was available to them after changing hands. This allows the company to carry the losses on its books when the studio is trying to find $3 billion for cost-saving. Batgirl carried a budget of $70 million that increased to $90 million when COVID-related safety protocols were factored in while filming. Per Deadline, Warner Bros Discovery isn’t looking to save much money by doing this. They’re saying they likely saved $15-20 million at most, which is a small figure relative to the $3 billion they need to shave off. They also say that it wouldn’t have hurt their bottom line to just release the film on HBO Max because it’s very difficult to determine success or failure on the platform since the streaming service doesn’t report its viewership numbers.
The only reason this will make sense could be determined today. The company has a Q2 earnings call that may shed more light on its future plans, with some rumors suggesting that HBO Max might fold into Discovery which will see even more HBO Max originals fading to black. The service has quietly removed several original movies from the service leading up to the call today.
What are YOUR thoughts on Leslie Grace’s comments regarding Batgirl being scrapped?
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