New Batman Halloween Costume Appears to Be Based on Batgirl Design
09/26/2022 07:01 am EDT
A new Batman costume being sold in the Halloween area at Target stores seems to be based on the design from upcoming DC Films productions like The Flash, or the cancelled Batgirl film. Based clearly on Michael Keaton's Batman in both the substance of the costume, and the design of the packaging, the suit features a dark-colored belt, which led Action Figure Insider on Instagram to suggest it could be based on the Batgirl design specifically, given that it matches set photos released. Obviously, the Keaton costume could be the same one from The Flash to Batgirl, but since we haven't seen any clear photos of the Flash costume, that's impossible to confirm.
Of course, if this is merchandise that was originally planned to promote Batgirl, it raises some red flags; part of the reason Warner Bros. cancelled the movie to begin with, as to write it down on their taxes. In order to receive about $20 million in tax breaks following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, the company has to agree not to profit from Batgirl in any way.
You can see the costume below.
Obviously, there is a long history of releasing toys and costumes that take liberties with conventional superhero suits. In this case, though, it's just interesting to see a Keaton-Batman costume hitting shelves, at the same time the character's future in the actual films seems to be somewhat in flux.
The total debt Warner Bros. Discovery is facing down is reportedly around $55 billion, according to the Financial Times. What all of this means is that a $20 million tax writedown for Batgirl seems like peanuts, but it could be a case where Zaslav is cutting everything he can, as aggressively as he can, figuring that every little bit helps.
Warner Bros. had reportedly invested as much as $90 million in the Batgirl movie -- which starred Michael Keaton as Batman, Leslie Grace as Batgirl, Brendan Fraser as Firefly, and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon -- before Discovery decided to pull the plug. Part of the benefit to Zaslav is that he can blame any losses on the previous regime, since AT&T's ownership of Warner Bros. was almost exclusively focused on building up the HBO Max app and brand. Zaslav reportedly does not see the value in spending big money on HBO Max exclusives, and wants to cap spending on original movies at around $30 million.
In keeping with that philosophy, before the plug was fully pulled on Batgirl, Zaslav reportedly explored the idea of opening it in theaters. Ultimately, that won't happen, either -- although it is not currently clear whether that is simply a tax consideration or, as was previously reported, a result of a film made for the small screen, which did not "scale up" well for theaters.
The Flash is still expected to hit theaters on June 23, assuming the personal and criminal crises in the life of star Ezra Miller don't throw things off.
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