How has Leslie Grace responded to the cancellation of her film "Batgirl"?
by Ana Walia | Thu, 04 Aug 2022 19:39:35 GMT
Leslie Grace praises the incredible cast and crew of Batgirl. Image Source: Complex

Leslie Grace praises the incredible cast and crew of Batgirl.

It was recently announced that the HBO Max movie 'Batgirl', starring actress Leslie Grace, was scrapped, and the actress is now addressing the response.

Unexpectedly, Warner Bros. will no longer be releasing the DC movie, Batgirl, which has already finished filming and was planned to air on HBO Max this year. The unexpected move follows a leadership change at Warners, where newly appointed Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav prioritizes cost-cutting measures and refocuses Warners on producing theatrical films rather than projects for streaming, as had been the priority for former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar.

The cost of Batgirl exceeded its initial $80 million budget by about $90 million as a result of COVID-19 guidelines. Scoob!: Holiday Haunt, an animated film with a $40 million budget, has also been shelved by Warners. Batgirl has had a difficult journey thus far. In 2017, Joss Whedon agreed to write and direct the film, however, he subsequently withdrew. The board was established in 2021 by the directors of Batgirl, Adil & Bilall, who had just revived the Bad Boys franchise.

Leslie Grace took to her social media to share her thoughts and wrote that, on the heels of the recent news about their movie "Batgirl", she just wants to say that she is very proud of the love, hard work, and intention all of the incredible cast and tireless crew put in for seven months in Scotland for the movie.

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The actress who played Barbara Gordon, aka the Batgirl, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work with such talented people and form lifelong friendships. Leslie added a thank you to every Batgirl fan out there and said that their love and belief in her allowed her to take on the cape and become, as Babs said, "my own damn hero". She lastly added, "Batgirl for life!".

Leslie Grace uploaded the first image of herself in costume in January of this year, along with a passage from the comic book Batgirl: Year One: "I use their expectations against them. That will be their weakness. Not mine. Let them all underestimate me... And when their guard is down, and their pride is rising, let me kick their butts. "

In a joint statement, the film's director said that they and the cast which included Michael Keaton as Batman, J.K. Simmons as Barbara's father, Commissioner Gordon, and Brendan Fraser as the evil Firefly—were astonished and dismayed to learn that the movie had been scrapped. They said in the statement that they find it hard to imagine that people won't see their movie and that, as filmmakers, they want people to see the work the cast and the crew of the movie had done. Even though the film was far from done, they continued by expressing their want for global fans to have seen and enjoyed the finished product. InshaAllah, the filmmakers said, perhaps someday they will! The directors praised Leslie Grace and said that she played Barbara Gordon with so much passion, dedication, and humanity.

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The studio's decision to cancel Batgirl comes after a shift in corporate control. As a result, CEO David Zazlav emphasizes theatrical releases over streaming ones and is looking to save $3 billion in costs, sources previously told The Hollywood Reporter. He also chose to take a tax write-off on the film.

Warner Bros. complimented Grace's lead performance in a statement released on Tuesday, attributing the change to their leadership's strategy adjustment about its DC brands and HBO Max. The statement stated that Leslie Grace is a very brilliant performer and their choice is not a reflection of her performance. The business said that it is very appreciative of the Batgirl movie's production crew.

After the Warner Media and Discovery merger was completed in April, the executives of Warner Bros. Discovery began searching for $3 billion in cost reductions. The $300 million streaming service CNN+ and the costly HBO original Demimonde, which had an estimated budget of $200 million or more, both suffered significant budget cutbacks along the road for the conglomerate.

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