Batgirl (2022)

[Travesty]

I'm just laughing at this mess.

This is insane!   

[The Laughing Fish]

Our boy deserved better. But seriously, the prior regime and their plans was a absolute clusterF, and evidently the WBD strategy with DC films is to implement change sooner than later, rather than simply take the easier route and allow this Hamada Post-Flashpoint DCEU timeline play itself out.

Some interesting decisions as of late. I'll give 'em that.

[/quote]
Following Syl Abdul Inc's scoop that Batfleck would return in Aquaman 2, Mikey Sutton  said on Syl' s channel that WBD hated the Flashpoint Timeline ever since the new company was created. Even said yesterday on YouTube that Batgirl was testing poorly, and now I'm hearing he scooped in a private members video its cancellation was inevitable.

A damning indictment on the whole Emmerich/Hamada regime, once.again.

I only want a couple of things from DC in live action: Cavill and Batfleck's return for ZSJL 2 and 3, at the bare minimum, and Keaton starring in Batman Beyond. That's it.

[thecolorsblend]

As someone with no horse in this race anymore, all I can say is LOfreakingL!

For those of you hoping for #RestoreTheSnyderverse, well, Batgirl is toast and Affleck seems to be replacing Keaton in AM2. So, you might yet get what you want. Me, I am officially out of the prediction business.

BUT! This is just about what you do when you want to introduce some kind of different direction. You don't argue around the margins about "keeping what works", you fire people, you cancel stuff, you retcon/reboot as necessary, you take whatever hardline steps you need to take to get the job done. This includes cancelling a 90% finished ~$100 million film because it no longer fits in with your program.

Whatever personal investment in these matters that I lack at the moment, as a gadfly who enjoys chaos and bedlam, I must say I'm eating this news up with a spoon and asking for seconds.

[The Joker]

Following Syl Abdul Inc's scoop that Batfleck would return in Aquaman 2, Mikey Sutton  said on Syl' s channel that WBD hated the Flashpoint Timeline ever since the new company was created. Even said yesterday on YouTube that Batgirl was testing poorly, and now I'm hearing he scooped in a private members video its cancellation was inevitable.

A damning indictment on the whole Emmerich/Hamada regime, once.again.

Yeah, actions speak a hell of a lot louder than just mere words. I've speculated in the past, that WBD-post merger, would honestly have no real ties or sentimentality for what the outgoing Hamada regime was then-planning with the DCEU. Thus, why uphold it? It's not their baby. Not where the new chiefs want to creatively take the DCEU going forward, and evidently the cancellation of "Batgirl" (which would have been set squarely within the Post-Flashpoint Hamada timeline created by the conclusion of "The Flash") comes across more like a decision was made to go with brand preservation over simply taking the L. 

I only want a couple of things from DC in live action: Cavill and Batfleck's return for ZSJL 2 and 3, at the bare minimum, and Keaton starring in Batman Beyond. That's it.

I am pretty much with you on this (in addition to Joker: Folie à Deux which I am keenly interested in). Sutton has stated that WBD green lighting ZSJL2 and ZSJL3, along with a MOS2 (which he claims are apart of negotiations between Cavill and WBD) could be viewed as more of a business necessity than actual desire from WBD. As pulling a complete and total reboot with a new cast would be a rather unenviable task. I think it was made pretty clear by fans to WBD and the Rock during his presentation that Cavill returning as Superman wins hands down over anything they have been trying to cook up with Jar Jar and that coats guy. Batfleck is now placed into Aquaman 2 where he wasn't before. I don't really see Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa going anywhere anytime soon unless outright pushed out (which would be foolish). Keaton in a "Batman Beyond" live action film is a no brainer (Sutton briefly mentioned there being "talks" between WBD and Burton directing Batman Beyond. Which is intriguing. If anything, something like that probably would get attention as a nostalgic hook for fans with BB being essentially the 3rd in a Keaton/Burton trilogy of films given the 'Keaton back as Batman' card already having been played).

WBD making a decision to shelve "Batgirl" when it's pretty much done signifies some pretty big shifts in what the future of the brand will be going forward. Interesting times.

[Silver Nemesis]

I wonder what the main issue was that made the studio decide the film was "irredeemable". Was it the wokeness? Was it the confusion surrounding Keaton's return? Or was it just really badly made? Considering this is the same studio that released Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey in theatres, could Batgirl really have been that much worse?

As someone with no horse in this race anymore, all I can say is LOfreakingL!

For those of you hoping for #RestoreTheSnyderverse, well, Batgirl is toast and Affleck seems to be replacing Keaton in AM2. So, you might yet get what you want. Me, I am officially out of the prediction business.

BUT! This is just about what you do when you want to introduce some kind of different direction. You don't argue around the margins about "keeping what works", you fire people, you cancel stuff, you retcon/reboot as necessary, you take whatever hardline steps you need to take to get the job done. This includes cancelling a 90% finished ~$100 million film because it no longer fits in with your program.

Whatever personal investment in these matters that I lack at the moment, as a gadfly who enjoys chaos and bedlam, I must say I'm eating this news up with a spoon and asking for seconds.

[The Laughing Fish]

Now Syl and Sutton have hinted that Flash will be the next movie to get shelved. It wouldn't be surprising if that's true because of the whole Ezra Miller saga. But it does beg the question even louder over Affleck's role in Aquaman 2. IF WBD wanted to reboot DC on film from scratch, then why would they pour more money on reshoots for Aquaman and have Batfleck in it? Why would the script NEED Batman at all, especially if we take Affleck's previous words saying he has had enough of franchise films? We'll find out soon, I guess.

Meanwhile, it's reported the Batgirl directors weren't even made aware that their movie got canceled while they were away at a wedding. Ouch.

I think it was made pretty clear by fans to WBD and the Rock during his presentation that Cavill returning as Superman wins hands down over anything they have been trying to cook up with Jar Jar and that coats guy.

Right after the Rock got booed over his hint over Superman getting played by another actor, I saw him in an interview afterward saying "Henry Cavill is the Superman of our generation". They would be NUTS not to get Cavill back after that SDCC backlash. The Rock can talk about "DC hierarchy is about to change" with his promotion of Black Adam all he wants, but he's kidding himself if he thinks a  traditional Shazam villain is going to outgrow Superman's popularity. FWIW, Sutton has insisted Cavill will return, not only in Black Adam but for a solo MOS sequel too. We'll see if all of those things come to fruition.

As for JJ Abrams and that Ta-Nehisi Coates guy, I think it's very unlikely their Superman will ever get made. It's best that it never does.

I have to say, I'm very surprised at the Batgirl news. I thought WBD would commit to putting it on streaming since it was a movie that the new company had inherited from the previous WB regime, but they thought it was better to get a tax write-off because they don't see releasing it will gain any money whatsoever. That's quite damning, but I blame AT&T for allowing this project to get this far. They reportedly canceled previous projects like New Gods and the Aquaman spin-off The Trench before any of them got filmed, so Batgirl - and the wider Flashpoint Timeline - getting further work done despite an evident lack of faith is something I won't ever understand.

As much as I despise this guy for posting a laughing gif on the subject of Autumn Snyder's suicide, his second-hand account of test screeners' reaction to Batgirl is quite telling:



The Tim Burton Batman deserved better, alright.

[Travesty]

I woke up, checked twitter.

...I'm still laughing at all of this. lol

[The Dark Knight]

I wonder what the main issue was that made the studio decide the film was "irredeemable". Was it the wokeness? Was it the confusion surrounding Keaton's return? Or was it just really badly made? Considering this is the same studio that released Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey in theatres, could Batgirl really have been that much worse?

It could very well be a bad movie. But I feel there has to be more to this. I'll be paying close attention to see if Batgirl as played by this Leslie person is retained and introduced in future projects. If she's not, that says a lot. Or if she is, perhaps the content and context is altered to be more palatable. Honestly, I'm hoping she's scrapped altogether. I was never completely on board with Keaton working with a female assistant, and saw it as their woke substitute for Terry. If Keaton does remain, I'm hoping he's given something larger and more meaningful going forward.

As the saying goes, fail to plan - plan to fail.

[thecolorsblend]

Now Syl and Sutton have hinted that Flash will be the next movie to get shelved.

Got links for those? I'm sort of curious.

If WBD cans The Flash... I just can't even. That would be massive. So, I'd like to see those Syl and Sutton sources, thx.

[Silver Nemesis]

For anyone who's interested, here are some details about Keaton's role in Batgirl according to leaks. I don't suppose there's any point marking this as SPOILERS, but I'll put it in white anyway in case anyone's holding out hope for the movie's release.

Keaton appears in five scenes altogether.

The first scene is the one we saw them filming earlier in the year with J K Simmons. Batman appears and saves Gordon from a gang of criminals. This is a flashback scene in which Keaton is digitally de-aged.

The second scene takes place in the present where Bruce Wayne is attending a party. Some terrorists arrive and try to assassinate him, but they're foiled by Barbara who happens to be dressed in a Batgirl suit for Halloween (this harkens back to her costumed debut in the comics). Bruce takes note of Barbara's actions and is concerned.

The third scene sees Batman showing up in the Batmobile and accosting Batgirl on the streets of Gotham. He gets out of the car and warns her not to continue her costumed antics or her actions will get people killed.

The fourth scene has Batman showing up at Batgirl's hideout to give her some important information about the case she's investigating.

The final scene has Batman and Batgirl talking on a rooftop and agreeing to work together. He gives her a new costume and they both leap off a gargoyle. Then the credits roll.

According to leaks, this is what Keaton's role amounted to. It was bigger than his role in Aquaman II, but smaller than his role in The Flash. At no point in the movie does he train Batgirl, which suggests the rumours of this being a Batman Beyond substitute were false. The rumours of Dick Grayson/Nightwing appearing are also said to have been false.

Of course all of these leaked details might be false, but most people are treating them as accurate.

We'll just have to consign this film to the same cinematic netherworld (I suggest we call it Earth-86) as Superman Lives and Justice League: Mortal. Only in this case, the movie was actually shot and in the late stages of postproduction. Think about that – somewhere, in some vault at WB, there's a complete Michael Keaton Batman film that we'll possibly never see.

I'm also seeing rumours that the final act of The Flash will be reshot. Probably to remove the plot point about Keaton becoming the new DCEU Batman.