When Leslie Grace was announced as the new Batgirl, some supported her from the beginning, especially because of her background in In the Neighborhood (95%), but others criticized her simply because of her race and physical appearance. The actress overcame those attacks and the film soon became one of DC’s most anticipated installments. Batgirl hadn’t had an adaptation that did the character justice so fans wanted to know how she would function independently and how far she could go within this chaotic universe. After a long wait, the project was cancelled, and audiences lost their chance to see Grace in the role. Several months have passed, but the actress shared new images that will surely arouse the interest of many.
Batgirl is one of the most important characters of the brand and her followers are still waiting for a movie that shows everything she is capable of as a protagonist. Although she started out as an add-on to the Batman series, she soon found her own place in the comics and even had very interesting episodes in the hero’s animated series that helped a lot to build her own legacy. A solo film of the heroine has been confirmed for many years, but the project had many problems to start production. The cancellation of the film joins these conflicts and for now it seems impossible to think of a new proposal, although James Gunn could offer one very soon.
There was a time when Joss Whedon wanted to work on his own adaptation and this seemed ideal because he was a great fan of the character and because he already had a background in films of the genre thanks to his time at Marvel. However, after what happened with his Justice League cut (41%) and with the exhibition they made about his misogynistic behavior on various film sets, it became clear that he was not the one for such a task. DC wanted to keep the possibility, and executives began looking at other options for directing Batgirl. In the end, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who also participated in Ms. Marvel (100%), were selected to continue with the task and everything seemed to be going well with the casting and story selection.
Unfortunately, David Zaslav and his team, now at the helm of Warner Bros. Discovery, decided it wasn’t worth the investment and it was easier to cancel the film and recoup some money in the process. The fans began to debate a lot on social networks about this action and even started a campaign to save the film. Unfortunately, none of that worked, and although the directors tried to get their jobs back, their access was taken away, and they were left empty-handed. Leslie Grace thanked fans for their support and shared her sadness and upset at the sudden end of her journey through the DCEU.
Brendan Fraser, who gave life to the villain of Batgirl, has already spoken on several occasions about the disappointment that the cancellation of the tape meant and now that his popularity has risen thanks to his work on The Whale (70%) some believe that the film it could still be salvaged. At this point this is unlikely, especially since James Gunn and Peter Safran will have their own plan for the character. Despite everything, Leslie Grace feels lucky for the opportunity and in a small video she showed previously unpublished scenes from the tape. In her official instagram account, the actress shared several images to say goodbye to 2022 and many of them were from the production of Batgirl.
Thank you for showing me 2022. You were unique in many ways that will stay with me. My gratitude and love for life is much deeper thanks to the experiences you brought me. I take your lessons with me as we say goodbye. Here’s to many more stories to tell, memories to make, and love to give in 2023.