DC fans are still reeling from the unprecedented cancellation of Warner Bros. Discovery's upcoming HBO Max Batgirl movie, which was in the late stages of post-production and very close to being completed when the plug was pulled.
Some new details on the decision to scrap the project emerged earlier today, and it seems the choice ultimately came down to the studio capitalizing on an opportunity to shelve the movie as a tax write-off, since this was deemed to be the most financially sound way to recoup the costs compared to a HBO Max or theatrical release.
It's obviously a devastating development for all of the talent involved - made worse by the report that directors Adil El Arbi and Billal Fallah found out about the cancellation while they were in Morocco for Adil’s wedding - although the studio is said to be "discussing making different deals with the directors and Miss Bala star Grace, because this was not a reflection on their talent as much as the radical strategy shift."
Now, fans are understandably worried that other upcoming films such as Blue Beetle and Black Canary could suffer the same fate.
Well, according to Deadline, other DC projects are not expected "to get killed like this, because the accounting opportunity expires by the middle of this month," although the trade does add that "no one with a project made specifically for HBO Max or execs there can feel confident at this moment."
Good news for Blue Beetle and Black Canary and everyone involved with bringing those characters to the screen, but it sounds like they may have only avoided being scrapped because they're not quite so far along in production!
It's going to be very interesting to see how the studio continues to develop The DCEU (or whatever's left of it) moving forward, but to say the decision to shelve Batgirl has not gone over very well would be an understatement.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.