The more we hear about the now-cancelled Batgirl film, the more upsetting and confusing the whole situation becomes.
For those who don’t know, Warner Bros. Discovery and, more specifically, new CEO David Zaslav shelved the upcoming Batgirl film, directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, with Leslie Grace as the titular character. Reports have claimed that the film tested poorly, seeing audience test scores in the 60s, which didn’t give the studio confidence as DC Films is currently undergoing a massive overhaul.
The filmmakers have addressed the situation, the film’s stars have expressed their sadness, and Zaslav also offered his take. But one of the newest pieces is from industry insider Matthew Belloni and these new details come with some fascinating information.
On his podcast The Town, Belloni claims that Batgirl had small stakes but wasn’t shy on references to the larger DC Universe. It included legacy characters but also tried to bring to life some comic elements.
We also got more information about the film’s villain, which Brendan Fraser played. Belloni states: “Firefly is just a dude in a suit who may or may not have killed Batgirl’s mother early on; it was a fire or something. I don’t want to get into the details of the plot, which he said was very convoluted and involved multiple boyfriends and mob bosses.”
One of the juiciest details is that Belloni notes that there may or may not have been a reference to Jason Todd, a prominent character in the DC Universe. In the Snyderverse, Jason Todd has been killed, as seen by the Robin suit in Batman v Superman. But this film would take place in a different DC multiverse with a different Batman.
Since Michael Keaton was set to feature as the Batman of this Batgirl film, Belloni does state they “show Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman mask, a nice little Easter egg, although Michelle Pfeiffer is not in the movie.”
Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer starred in 1992’s Batman Returns, directed by Tim Burton. The plan was for Keaton’s Batman to make a multiverse return in Andy Muschietti’s The Flash., setting him up as the DCEU’s new Dark Knight with appearances in Batgirl and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (which will now include Ben Affleck’s Bat).
However, Keaton’s Batman return now looks short-lived and sadly, the cancellation of Batgirl leaves a lot on the table, but we will surely learn more details as the months and years go by.
