Despite the film’s shelving meaning his performance therein as Batman will never see the light of day, Batgirl actor Michael Keaton has admitted that he ultimately “did not care one way or another” about the grounding of the DC heroine’s solo outing.
For those who may have forcefully memory-holed the entire project faster than Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and need a quick refresher: Directed by Bad Boys: Ride or Die duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, penned by Birds of Prey scribe Christina Hodson, and featuring In The Heights star Leslie Grace as the titular heroine, Batgirl would have seen the Bat-family’s most prominent female member coming into her own as a crime-fighter thanks to the tutelage of Michael Keaton’s elderly Batman, with the actor reprising the role from his original outing as the Caped Crusader in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns.
But shortly after the merger and subsequent creation of Warner Bros. Discovery in August 2022, the aforementioned Zaslav cancelled the already-completed film in service of his goal to help reduce the newly formed entity’s absolutely massive amounts of debt.
“The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max,” a WBD spokesperson told TheWrap in light of the film’s scrapping. “Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt [which was also canceled at the same time] and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future.”
However, more than for just financial reasons, it seems the project was also shelved due to it being just an outright bad movie.
“I saw the movie,” recalled DC Studios co-head Peter Safran while speaking at a 2023 DC investors presentation” for investors. “There were a lot of incredibly talented people in front of and behind the camera on that film. But that film was not releasable. It happens sometimes. That film was not releasable.”
“I actually think that [David] Zaslav and the team made a very bold and courageous decision to cancel it because it would’ve hurt DC, it would’ve hurt those people involved,” he added. “I think they really stood up to support DC, the characters, the story, the quality, and all that.”
The DC executive further asserted, “We’d love to be in business with all of those folks. Christina Hodson, the writer, she’s somebody we’re already back in business with. A lot of talented people involved, but the film was just not releasable. It would not have been able to compete in the theatrical marketplace.”
“It was built for the small screen,” he ultimately opined. “I think it was not an easy decision, but they made the right decision by shelving it.”
Now, roughly two years after it was handed down, Keaton himself has shared his own opinon regarding Batgirl’s cancellation – and unsurprisingly, they don’t appear deviate to far from those held by either Zaslav or Safran.
Asked for his thoughts on the entire affair during a recent interview with GQ’s Gabriella Paiella, the fan-favorite Bat-actor declared, “No, I didn’t care one way or another. Big, fun, nice check.”
However, not without his sympathies, Keaten then noted, “I like those boys [Batgirl directors El Arbi and Fallah]. They’re nice guys. I pull for them. I want them to succeed, and I think they felt very badly, and that made me feel bad.”
“Me?” he concluded, offering a casual shrug. “I’m good.”
NEXT: Michael Keaton Reportedly Played “Pivotal Cameo” As A Retired Batman In The Cancelled ‘Batgirl’