Explained: Why was Batgirl never released? All about DC's entirely finished superhero film

Batgirl, a completely finished DC movie, was canceled by Warner Bros. in August 2022. Billal Fallah and El Arbi acted as directors for the never-released superhero movie, which had Actress Leslie Grace in the lead role as Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl. Other notable names in the film included Brandan Fraser as the main villain Firefly and Michael Keaton in the titular role of Batman.

As per New York Post, the film was supposed to debut at the end of 2022 on HBO Max. However, as reported by Esquire, Batgirl was dismissed by Warner Bros. due to a financial reshuffling at the company. As a result, the movie was restricted from being released on streaming platforms and in theaters.

In an interview with The Wrap, a spokesperson from Warner Bros. explained that the choice to shelve the movie was a strategic move from the company's end. The spokesperson also clarified that the decision had nothing to do with actress Leslie Grace's performance in the film, as speculated by some on the internet.

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DC Studios' Co-Chairperson Peter Safran reportedly said Batgirl "was not releasable" after watching the movie

The Co-Chairperson of DC Studios, Peter Safran, revealed during a press event for Warner Bros. that he agreed with the decision not to launch Batgirl, as he believed that the release would have negatively impacted DC and others associated with the project. As per Variety, Safran watched the movie and sided with the decision.

"On the Batgirl front, it’s not about late in the process of the film getting canceled. I saw the movie, and there are a lot of incredibly talented people in front of and behind the camera on that film. But that film was not releasable, and it happens sometimes. That film was not releasable," he said.

The co-chairperson further said that he had spoken to the directors of the movie regarding partnerships in future projects of DC.

Naturally, the cast of the canceled movie was quite heartbroken by the decision. Fraser, in an interview with Variety, opened up about the cancellation:

"What I find most lamentable is that now a whole generation of little girls have to wait longer to see a Batgirl and say, 'Hey, she looks like me....That makes me sad. I know how good (Leslie Grace) was. And I know what this would mean to so many people."

The lead star of the film, Grace Leslie, also spoke to Variety about the movie being written off by Warner Bros. She explained how defeated she felt after hearing the news of the cancellation.

"There are a lot of things that I learned through the experience about moviemaking, that as an actress you have no control over," she said.

The actress further stated that after watching the movie, she felt that it had immense potential to become a success.

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The screenplay for the un-released superhero movie was written by Christina Hodson. Kristin Burr served as the producer.

The movie had a total budget of $90 million and was shot between November 2021 to March 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Apart from Leslie Grace as Batgirl, Brendan Fraser as Firefly, and Michael Keaton as Batman, the other significant cast members for the movie included J. K. Simmons as James Gordon, Ivory Aquino as Alysia Yeoh, and Jacob Scipio as Anthony Bressi. Others involved included Corey Johnson, Rebecca Front, and Ethan Kai.