The Belgian directors, best known for 2020’s Bad Boys for Life and the Ms Marvel episodes, shared a statement on Instagram following Tuesday’s news that Warner Bros Discovery would not be releasing the DC Comics adventure that was nearing its end of post-production. “We are saddened and shocked by the news,” the duo wrote. “We still can’t believe it. As filmmakers, it’s critical that our work is shown to the public, and while the film was far from complete, we wish fans around the world had the opportunity to see and embrace the finished film for themselves. Maybe one day they will Insha’Allah.” The pair went on to pay tribute to an “amazing cast and crew” who “did an incredible job and worked so hard to bring Batgirl to life.” The film stars In the Heights star Leslie Grace as Batgirl, with Brendan Fraser, JK Simmons, Rebecca Front and Michael Keaton returning as Batman. “Either way, as huge Batman fans since we were little kids, it was a privilege and an honor to be a part of the DCEU, even for a brief moment,” the statement concluded. “Batgirl For Life.” Leslie Grace as Batgirl. Photo credit: DC Films The $90 million film, which was set to premiere on US streaming service HBO Max, had finished filming and was in test screening. But it was revealed that Warner Bros Discovery would not be releasing it on any platform. Despite rumors that the decision was based on the film’s quality, Variety claimed that sources chalked up the decision to a tax incentive, “seen internally as the most financially sound way to cover costs”. The news comes after WarnerMedia officially merged with Discovery in April and CEO David Zaslav took the reins. Discovery reportedly took on about $43 billion in debt during the merger. Zaslav promised to cut about $3 billion in costs, which resulted in the cancellation of the proposed DC Wonder Twins movie in May. This week we also saw the animated sequel Scoob! Holidays on the shelf. Co-writer Paul Dini tweeted: “Why cancel a 95% complete holiday movie so close to fall when you’re sure kids will be watching it right after Halloween until at least New Year’s? It makes no business sense.” “The decision not to release Batgirl reflects a strategic change in our leadership as it relates to the DC Universe and HBO Max,” an official statement said. “Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actress and this decision does not reflect on her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to work with everyone again in the near future.” Today we saw reports that six HBO Max originals had been pulled from the service and offered as paid rentals elsewhere, including the Melissa McCarthy comedy Superintelligence, the Robert Zemickis remake of The Witches, and the Anne Hathaway caper Locked Down. August also sees the entire Harry Potter franchise leave the service and head to NBC’s Peacock. This Thursday Warner Bros. Discovery presents its second quarter results. Unlike Netflix, HBO Max started the year well with its first quarter results showing 12.8 million global subscribers year-over-year, up 3 million from the previous quarter. Last month, Zaslav spoke to Variety and reiterated his desire to combine HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streaming platform. “We’ll talk about how we’re going to do it and when, soon,” he said.
