Star of the DCEU film, Ivory Aquino publicly begged Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslov to reconsider his decision to cancel production on the Batgirl movie. When Aquino found out that funeral screenings were being hosted on the Warner Bros. lot, she took to Twitter to share her thoughts. Batgirl was reportedly going to cost $90 million, but Warner Bros. Discovery chose to cancel the film when it was in post-production. This film would be the first in the DCEU to be made specifically for HBO Max, a strategy for distribution that the network no longer endorses.
Warner Bros. Discovery, regrettably, saw the project as a tax write-off and instead invested the money in a theatrically-focused 10-year plan for the DC Extended Universe. The tragic aspect of the choice is that the film’s material can never be released again in any manner if they utilise Batgirl as a write-off. The most likely conclusion is that Batgirl is never completed and never reaches its audience if Warner Bros. Discovery cannot make a profit from it. Hollywood was caught off guard by Warner Bros. Discovery’s unusual decision, and in the past few weeks, cast and crew members have spoken out about their shock at seeing their hard work discarded due to greed.
Now is the time for Aquino to be vulnerable and express her anguish with fans while pleading with the firm to reverse its offensive choice. Aquino writes, “I’ve done my best to be tough these past weeks, I’d find myself sobbing, for lack of a better description, from loss and today was one of those evenings.” It’s reasonable that Aquino is upset, given that Batgirl’s existence is in jeopardy. Batgirl “is a father-daughter narrative which strikes near to heart as my Dad died away a year before I booked this movie,” the actress says, emphasising the film’s personal significance.
Nonetheless, Aquino doesn’t rely just on the company’s compassion; she also points out how the cancellation decision may benefit Warner Bros. Discovery’s marketing if the film’s release is reinstated. Aquino acknowledges the difficulty of Zaslov’s situation in her letter by stating that she shares his desire to reduce expenses. Since “more people know about our labour of love and are anxious to watch the movie,” the marketing costs for a Batgirl release would be reduced. Aquino’s character in Batgirl, Alysia Yeoh, is a transgender bartender with culinary aspirations and Batgirl’s best friend. Due to the cancellation of Batgirl, a character who identifies as transgender will not be included in any DCEU films. We really wish Aquino’s letter would not go unread, but it’s looking increasingly doubtful that Batgirl will ever be released.