AS news of the reinvigorated slate of DC Studios films picks up steam, along with anticipation over upcoming releases such as The Flash, Leslie Grace has finally spoken out about the cancelled Batgirl movie in an interview with Variety.
Last August, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s film was cancelled by Warner Bros. Discovery. In it, Grace led the film as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl.
The film was reportedly cancelled due to disappointing test screenings that led to WBD executives taking a tax write-off instead of completing the film, which had already cost the debt-ridden studio US$90 million (RM392.6 million), and would have cost millions more to finish.
Grace told Variety that she had no idea the movie, originally set to stream on HBO Max, was shelved until it was first reported by the New York Post.
The actress said she felt like a “deflated balloon” on that day.
Recently, DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran said that the film was “not releasable” and that it could have “hurt DC”.
When asked about his comments, Grace did not have any reasonable response, though she does say that she saw a rough cut of the film.
“The film that I got to see – the scenes that were there – was incredible. There was definitely potential for a good film, in my opinion. Maybe we’ll get to see clips of it later on,” Grace added.
Grace also noted that neither Safran nor James Gunn, DC Studios’ other head, have reached out to her.
After Batgirl completed its production, Grace’s co-star Brendan Fraser gave her a wrap gift; a gold necklace with two charms, a little bell and a pair of dice.
Fraser, who played the arsonist villain Firefly in the shelved film, immediately called her when news of the cancellation broke.
Speaking to Variety, Fraser said: “What I find most lamentable is that now a whole generation of little girls are going to have to wait longer to see a Batgirl and say, ‘Hey, she looks like me’.
“That makes me sad. I know how good she was. And I know what this would mean to so many people.”