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The Flash is out, and it hasn’t proved to be the kind of success that Warner Bros. Discovery thought it could be. With a lower box office opening than Black Adam, it could be one of the biggest flops that DC has ever produced. Upon seeing The Flash’s failure, many fans are now bringing back the argument of canceling Batgirl to keep Ezra Miller’s latest movie alive.
In March 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery canceled the Batgirl movie to claim a tax write-off. Following that, fans were left asking if The Flash would also be canceled. Since the studio had already spent around $225 million on its production, it took a punt by delaying the film and saw it through to its release.
But that risk has not paid off, and it has left fans divided over Warner Bros. choosing to retain The Flash after canceling Batgirl.
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DC’s Batgirl fans go to war after The Flash’s opening
Ezra Miller's Flash movie has made $55 million at the domestic box office in its first three days. Meanwhile, its worldwide total stands at $139 million. These numbers are far worse than what Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam made, and they’ve evoked fans to talk about Batgirl’s cancelation last year. The following reactions show DC fans getting angry over Batgirl’s cancelation yet again:
The Flash’s box office numbers and projections prove that it could be an even bigger loss than Justice League was for Warner Bros. Batgirl itself may not or may have made a lot of money at the box office, but The Flash’s failure proves that Warner Bros. should have either canceled both films to claim tax write-offs or should have released both of them.
Maybe then, the studio would have been saved from the bad press it got, and the DC movies that followed Batgirl’s cancellation might have fared better.
Why Batgirl was canceled
Batgirl was 90% done, and Warner Bros. canceled it in its post-production stage. It was originally supposed to arrive as an HBO Max (now MAX) but was later scheduled for a theatrical release. After Warner Bros.’ merger with Discovery, the new leadership claimed that the film wasn’t fit for a theatrical release.
The studio was heavily focused on releasing DC movies as potential big-screen blockbusters, and Batgirl’s quality was not close to what was needed. Hence, the movie was shelved as a tax write-off. Another reason for the cancelation was the change in DC’s leadership.
Walter Hamada, the previous leader of DCEU, planned to turn Michael Keaton’s Batman into the permanent Batman of DCEU. He would have continued to train Barbara Gordon in Bargirl after his role in The Flash. But with Hamada’s contract coming to an end and DC looking to find new leadership, the idea to retain Keaton’s Batman was dropped. Hence, his role in Batgirl would have felt out of place.
All in all, the failure of Ezra Miller’s Flash movie suggests that general movie-goers don’t care about anything that the shared DC universe has to offer. Instead of a semi-reboot, James Gunn’s DCU should be a complete reboot starting with Superman: Legacy.
