A few weeks ago, incoming Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made huge waves by cancelling Batgirl, a movie that was already shot and well into post-production. The film was set to arrive on HBO Max, but Zaslav is looking for ways to trim billions off the company’s operating budget and decided that he could get more out of the film by turning it into a tax write-off by than releasing it. (Zaslav reportedly made $246 million as CEO of Discovery in 2021, just FYI.)
Since then, we’ve had reports that certain executives at Warner Bros. Discovery have been holding “funeral screenings” for the movie, so that at least they’ll get to see what they made before the footage goes under lock and key. Star Ivory Aquino, who plays Batgirl’s roommate Alysia Yeoh, heard about this and decided to make one last plea to Zaslav to release the film.
“I’ve found myself not being able to talk about this ordeal with anyone,” Aquino wrote on Twitter. “I realized that no one, apart from those involved with the film, would truly understand what we’re feeling. And talking about it with my castmates, I feel, might be akin to rubbing salt on a still-open wound.”
"I can only endeavor to understand how one feels when tasked with tending to the bottom line like you have. I can’t even begin to imagine what one in your position goes through having such great responsibility to attend to. I do know and ask, with something like Batgirl that’s a product of our hearts and souls, that the little cogs not simply be seen as widgets whose fates are determined by an equation to benefit the bottom line. More than widgets, we are fellow human beings and artists who, when given the chance, can outperform the equation and multiply the bottom line exponentially."
Aquino also argues that, given that Batgirl has basically been the most talked about film in the world for a while, there’s not much need to spend money on marketing it; the internet will do that for you, which isn’t a bad point. “Consider releasing Batgirl,” Aquino finishes. “She’s always been an underdog and has nowhere to go but up.”
Will this result in Batgirl coming out despite the odds being stacked against it? I’d guess no, but I never thought Warner Bros. would release the Snyder Cut either, so who knows?
Dan Lin may become to DC what Kevin Feige is to Marvel
There may be a new guy whose input will be important. The Hollywood Reporter has it that Warner Bros. Discovery is negotiating with Dan Lin — a producer who had a hand in projects like The LEGO Movie, the live-action Aladdin, and both IT films — to put him in charge of all things DC, both on film and TV. Essentially, he would be to DC what Kevin Feige is the Marvel.
If hired, Lin would report directly to Zaslav, so he would still have the final call. Warner Bros. has been looking for “its own Kevin Feige” for a while now. Whether the copy can be as successful as the original is far less certain.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels