DC Studios CEO claims axed ‘Batgirl’ movie was “not releasable”
Peter Safran, co-CEO of DC Studios, has explained why 2022’s Batgirl was scrapped after production, referring to the superhero movie as “not releasable.”
The film starred Leslie Grace as the titular character, J.K Simmons as her father, James Gordon, and Brendan Fraser as Firefly. The production also saw Michael Keaton star as Batman, and Jacob Scipio play mob boss Anthony Bressi.
However, following poor test screenings, Batgirl was canned, with original reports claiming the project was written off due to tax purposes. At a DC presentation in Los Angeles on January 31st, Safran shared the real reason behind the film being unreleased, explaining that there were concerns about its quality.
According to IndieWire, Safran claimed that he “saw the movie” and “there were a lot of incredibly talented people in front of and behind the camera.” However, he stated that the “film was not releasable. It happens sometimes. That film was not releasable.”
“I actually think that [David] Zaslav [Warner Bros. Discovery CEO] and the team made a very bold and courageous decision to cancel it, because it would’ve hurt DC. It would’ve hurt those people involved. I think they really stood up to support DC, the characters, the story, the quality and all that.”
Furthermore, he claimed to have spoken to Batgirl co-directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah last week. “We’d love to be in business with all of those folks. Christina Hodson, the writer, she’s somebody we’re already back in business with. A lot of talented people [were] involved, but the film was just not releasable.”
“It would not have been able to compete in the theatrical marketplace. It was built for the small screen. I think it was not an easy decision, but they made the right decision by shelving it.”
In August 2022, El Arbi and Fallah hit back at claims that Batgirl was not well-made. “The guys from Warners told us it was not a talent problem from our part or the actress, or even the quality of the movie. They told us it was a strategic change. There was new management, and they wanted to save some money.”
After the cancellation was announced last year, the pair took to Instagram to share their disappointment. “We are saddened and shocked by the news. We still can’t believe it. 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.”
The pair will be directing Bad Boys 4, starring Will Smith, in the near future.
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