'Batgirl': Leslie Grace Breaks Silence on Movie's Cancellation
Leslie Grace, the star of Warner Bros.' now-canceled Batgirl movie, has spoken out following the studio's decision not to release the film on any platform. Just a day after multiple outlets confirmed that the DC Comics film, which was directed by Bad Boys For Life team Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, would no longer make it to any screen, Grace addressed the abrupt cancellation on social media, sharing how proud she was of the movie and all of those involved in making it.
Grace, whose fame skyrocketed following her breakthrough performance in In the Heights, addressed the disappointing news on Instagram, where she shared several behind-the-scenes looks at the film. "Querida familia," she began the post, adding, "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." Batgirl would not only have marked Grace's biggest acting role to date, but also a rare superhero film headlined by a Latina actor. Grace said she feels "blessed to have worked among absolute greats and forged relationships for a lifetime in the process." Concluding her post with a message to fans, she wrote, "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!"
On Tuesday, Aug. 2, Warner Bros, made the surprise decision not to release Batgirl, which had a $90 million budget, in movie theaters or on its HBO Max streaming partnership. A decision for the unprecedented move was not made. Although a source told the New York Post that the movie was "shelved" in part due to poor quality, with the film's test screenings reportedly so bad that Warner Bros. decided it was better to never release the movie than risk it damaging the DC Comics brand, other sources told Variety that "the studio intended to fulfill a desire for its slate of DC movies to be at a blockbuster scale, which Batgirl was not, as it was originally conceived specifically for HBO Max."
Following the news, the films directors said they were "saddened and shocked." They added, "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."
Along with Grace, Batgirl starred Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman, while J.K. Simmons reprised his Justice League role as Commissioner Jim Gordon. Filming on the movie had already wrapped, with most of the movie filmed n Scotland between November 2021 and March 2022.