Many people were shocked and saddened by the recent announcement that Batgirl will be cancelled. A lot of DC fans have been left wondering why Warner Brothers Discovery wouldn’t release a picture that was so close to completion in the days after that announcement. CEO David Zaslav spoke on the matter during Thursday’s WB investor call. The corporation decided to shelve Batgirl since it was not consistent with its strategy to maximise safe financial return. Scoob: Holiday Haunt and Wonder Twins, both of which were recently scrapped, were also mentioned in the context of Batgirl. “The idea is to expand the DC brand and the characters, but just as critical to defending the DC brand,” Zaslav remarked in reference to DC.
He said, “Especially with DC, we’re not going to put a movie out until we believe in it.” In the same breath, Zaslav added, “We will not release a film until it is ready.” Everything fits in with the news during the past few months, especially the last few days. The previous WB management notoriously employed the same-day-and-date release approach on HBO Max during the height of the epidemic, and Zaslav is attempting to clean up the mess they made. As a result, Zaslav has put a lot of energy into movies that are only shown in theatres, which is a miscalculation that continues to cost WB money.
It was never the intention of bringing Batgirl, Scoob 2, or the Wonder Twins to theatres when they were first conceived. After Blue Beetle’s success in theatres, many people assumed Batgirl would follow suit. There was a lot of debate about a ten-year plan, similar to Marvel’s, for the future of the DCEU. In addition, the new WB administration would attempt to remedy some of the universe’s more dubious design decisions.
During the call, Zaslav shared his enthusiasm for forthcoming movies including Black Adam, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and The Flash. The previous several days have been tough for DC fans emotionally. Although it makes perfect business sense to forget about films like “Batgirl,” the wound is still very much open. It will take fans some time to recover from this, but we must be patient with WB. The DCEU might benefit in the long run from things like structure.
DC fans may not be able to rest easy just yet, but ideally, they will be after movies like “The Flash” are released and provide a better image of the future of the DC Cinematic Universe. For the time being, all we can do is watch the DCEU movies again on HBO Max and get excited for the return of some of our favourite characters on the big screen.