‘Batgirl’ Star Leslie Grace Breaks Her Silence After Warner Bros Cancel Film
Following the shocking update from Warner Bros, 'Batgirl' star Leslie Grace has broken her silence on the DC Extended Universe film's cancellation.
The "In the Heights" actress took to Instagram to reveal her thoughts on their journey and abrupt ending to 'Batgirl', even though the project had already finished production early this year. Grace shared her love and gratitude to her team and fans for allowing her to be her "own damn hero".
"I am proud of the love, hard work and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over 7 months in Scotland," the actress said.
'Bad Boys for Life' directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, also praised Grace for portraying Batgirl with "so much passion, dedication, and humanity" in their own Instagram post to share their thoughts.
Despite some initial mixed reactions to Grace being cast as Batgirl, the 27-year-old actress' post was flooded with positive comments from her supporters and co-stars.
"Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance." according to a Warner Bros. Spokesperson.
Leslie Grace garnered her fame as a singer-songwriter with three Latin Grammy Award nominations. She debuted as an actress in 2021 film adaptation of Tony Award-winning musical 'In the Heights'.
The cast for "Batgirl" included Michael Keaton as Batman, J.K Simmons as Commissioner James Gordon, and Brendan Fraser as the main antagonist, Firefly. Other casts who were set to star include Jacob Scipio, Rebecca Front, Ivory Aquino, and Corey Johnson.
Online Movement to Save Batgirl
As the main star of 'Batgirl' finally shared her thoughts after Warner Bros' decision, DC fans are not happy and have taken to social media to protest the release of 'Batgirl' under the hashtags #ReleaseTheBatgirlMovie and #SaveTheBatgirlMovie.
This turn of events may sound familiar for DC fans who witnessed the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement from Zack Snyder's "Justice League," which resulted in DC eventually releasing the director's cut of the film.
"Batgirl" was initially set to premiere exclusively on HBO Max. However, over the course of production, the budget went up to 90 million dollars, considering setbacks from COVID-19.
According to Variety, the decision was influenced by the recent merging of WarnerMedia, the parent company of HBO Max, with Discovery. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's corporate strategy is to prioritize blockbuster films for a new Warner Bros.
"The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership's strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max," according to a Warner Bros. Spokesperson.
Besides "Batgirl," other HBO Originals axed by the new Warner Bros. include sci-fi drama "Demimonde," a sci-fi rom-com "Moonshot," and the animated "Scoob!: Holiday Haunt" movie.
READ ALSO: Leslie Grace as 'Batgirl' Not Liked by Hardcore DC Fans?
