Grace, who broke out last year in the musical In the Heights, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share her thoughts on the streamer’s surprising decision not to release the film at all, even though it had already been shot and is in post-production. (The film reportedly fell victim to cost-cutting efforts by HBO Max’s parent company, the recently merged Warner Brothers Discovery.) “Querida familia!” wrote Grace. “Following the recent news about our Batgirl film, I am proud of the love, hard work and intent 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 lifelong relationships in the process! To every Batgirl fan — THANK YOU for the love and faith, for allowing me to pick up the cape and be, as Babs said it best, “my own damn hero!” #Batgirl for life!” Grace was first cast as Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, last July, with Brendan Fraser as the villain Firefly, JK Simmons as Barbara’s father Commissioner Gordon and Michael Keaton reprising his role as Bruce Wayne , aka Batman. But now the film won’t see the light of day, either on HBO Max or in theaters, with a Warner spokesperson saying that “the decision not to release Batgirl reflects a strategic change in our leadership as it relates to the Batgirl universe DC and HBO Max. “ Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Ms. Marvel) also released a statement after the film was pulled, saying they were “saddened and shocked by the news… As filmmakers, it’s important that our work is shown to the public, and while the film was not finished, we wish fans around the world had the opportunity to see and embrace the finished film for themselves.”
