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Comic book fans let out a collective cry of dismay when Warner Bros. Discovery canceled Batgirl earlier this month despite spending up to $90 million on it. The movie, which was helmed by Ms Marvel directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, was previously expected to debut on streaming service HBO Max this year.
A few people are getting to see at least some of Batgirl this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with secret screenings taking place on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California. These "select insiders" will apparently consist of movie cast and crew, along with representatives and executives.
One of the outlet's sources referred to the events as "funeral screenings," before the movie is locked away. It's unclear if these audiences will see the whole movie -- which was seemingly 90% complete -- or select footage.
Batgirl was to feature Leslie Grace as Batgirl/Barbara Gordon, Michael Keaton returning to his role as Batman, J.K. Simmons as Gotham Police Department Commissioner (and Barbara's dad) Jim Gordon and Brendan Fraser as supervillain Firefly.
On Monday, El Arbi and Bilall Fallah told the SKRIPT YouTube channel that they didn't have access to the footage. The Belgian directing duo noted that they were told the movie's cancellation was about new management wanting to save money -- CEO David Zaslav reportedly made the decision to take a tax write-down on the movie.
"It was not a talent problem from our part or the actress, or even the quality of the movie," El Arbi said.
The pair expressed their hope that the movie will be released someday. SKRIPT's video interview includes some tantalizing images from the set, including Keaton in the Batsuit, so we get a sense of what might have been.
Warner Discovery also delayed two upcoming DC movie seqs, Deadline reported Wednesday. Shazam: Fury of the Gods will release on March 17, 2023 (instead of Dec. 21), while Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will come out Dec. 25, 2023 (having been previously scheduled for the Shazam sequel's new date).
DC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the Batgirl screenings.
