Leslie Grace Reveals 'Batgirl' Behind-The-Scenes Snaps to Close Year After HBO Max Shelved Movie
Leslie Grace continues to share more behind-the-scenes pictures and footage from the making of Batgirl. In an Instagram post marking the end of 2022, Grace included clips of herself in the Batgirl costume and more footage from the set in Glasgow. In August 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the $90 million movie would never be released, despite being close to completion.
Grace's post includes dozens of clips tracing the film's production. There are scenes of her trying out the costume, and working out stunts. Grace also included a brief picture of herself posing with the villain Firefly, who was played by Brendan Fraser. She is also seen posing with a young boy wearing a Batman costume. In one shot, she is wearing an armored purple-and-yellow costume that differs significantly from the one promotional image Warner Bros. released.
"Since I found out that I would be taking on this project, I was so excited and I was just mind blown, really," Grace told PopCulture.com in July. "It was really kind of crazy to wrap my head around it. But then once I got into that final version of the suit with the cowl on, and all the makeup and hair and everything, I was like, 'Wow, I'm really Batgirl. Like, what is happening right now? Am I in another dimension? Like, what is going on?' So it was incredible. It was a beautiful experience."
The Batgirl movie also starred J.K. Simmons as Batgirl's father, Commissioner James Gordon, which connected the movie to the DC Extended Universe. Michael Keaton returned to play Batman/Bruce Wayne for the first time since 1992's Batman Returns, but it's unclear how he would have fit in. Ivory Aquino and Jacob Scipio also played major roles. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who directed Bad Boys For Life, directed from a script by Christina Hodson. (Coincidentally, Hodson was reportedly involved with writing Margot Robbie's Pirates of the Caribbean movie, another project that will not be seen.)
Batgirl was intended to be released directly to HBO Max at some point in 2022. After the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger closed in April, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav decided that all future DC Comics projects needed to be big theatrical releases. Warner Bros. Discovery ultimately decided it would be better to write off Batgirl for a tax break than invest millions more to bring it to the same level as other theatrically-released DC films. In late August, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. hosted "funeral screenings" for the cast and crew. It's likely that Grace's brief Instagram clips will be as close as the general public will come to ever see any part of the movie since Warner Bros. could get in trouble with the IRS if Batgirl is ever released down the line.
"The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership's strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max," a Warner Bros. spokesperson said in August. "Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future."
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