Fans and celebrities alike have responded to the cancellation of Batgirl on Warner Bros. Discovery on August 2, which starred “In the Heights” star Leslie Grace. With J.K. Simmons reprising his role as Commissioner James Gordon, Brendan Fraser playing the villain Firefly, and Ivory Aquino playing Batgirl’s best friend, bartender, vigilante, and chef Alysia Yeoh, Batgirl boasts an impressive cast that was assembled with the intention of connecting the existing DC Universe films. On Friday, Aquino posted her opinions on the movie on Instagram with numerous adorable photographs of herself with the Batgirl crew.
Alysia Yeoh was going to make history as the first trans character in a live-action DC film in addition to being among the first important trans characters in modern comic book history.
“A female-written, female-produced, female-led film starring an Afro-Latina (angel!) and directed by Muslim Moroccan-Belgian wunderkinder about a female character who forges her own path to uplift the lives of those around her, even including her trans best friend, deserves to be seen and will find a way,” Aquino wrote. You can not put a price on it,” he said. Aquino’s reference to money alludes to the speculation around the movie’s failure. The original budget for Batgirl was $75 million, but it was increased to $90 million as production continued.
This is still less than the $200+ million budgets of DC movies like Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. New Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is calling Batgirl’s termination during post-production and after an allegedly poor screening with test audiences a victim of a “strategic change.” In response to the momentous decision, Warner Bros. issued the following statement to The Hollywood Reporter: Leadership has shifted its strategy with respect to the DC Universe and HBO Max, and this is reflected in the decision to not release Batgirl. This choice has nothing to do with Leslie Grace’s acting skills; she is a really accomplished actress.
Infinite thanks to the Batgirl and Scoob crew! We enjoyed working with Holiday Haunt and the casts of both shows and hope to do so again in the near future. DC has missed a historic chance to introduce a trans character to its screen, whether due to a shift in strategy, a suspected tax write-off, or another COVID-19 error. “Batgirl was truly a labour of love we were delighted and anxious to share with you all who have championed this amazing character and our clan of atypical minority peeps having the opportunity to show with the world that ANYONE and EVERYONE can be a superhero,” Aquino wrote.