It was quite a shock in August when Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav scrapped “Batgirl” entirely in what he deemed an attempt “to protect the DC brand.” The move to shelve the movie was the biggest one in Zaslav’s major shake-ups to the future of the DCEU and HBO Max. And the “funeral screenings” the studio held for the crew in late August are the closest thing “Batgirl” will ever get to a public release. If it’s ever shown publicly, Warner Bros. may no longer list the film as a tax loss, which is why Zaslav scuttled it in the first place.
READ MORE: ‘Batgirl’: Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Says Movie’s Shelving Was “Blown Out Of Proportion”
But for those curious, some footage from the movie is present in a recent video that “Batgirl” star Leslie Grace uploaded to TikTok. Vanity Fair reports that the fifteen-second video briefly shows cell phone footage of an on-set monitor recording playback. While the clip lasts a couple of seconds (and barely that), it’s probably the only footage the public will ever get to see of the movie. The TikTok clop also shows Grace in makeup, rehearsing fight choreography, prepping stunts for the film, and riding a springy playground horse that’s part of the set.
“Batgirl” was to be a breakout role for Grace, a three-time Latin Grammy nominee. After the film’s cancellation in August, she posted backstage shots from the movie on Instagram. “I am proud of the love, hard work and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over 7 months in Scotland,” she wrote in the caption, and quoted her character Barbara Gordon, “To every Batgirl fan—THANK YOU for the love and belief, allowing me to take on the cape and become, as Babs said best, ‘my own damn hero!’”
When Zaslav and Warner Bros. Discovery canceled “Batgirl,” the $90 million film was early in post-production. “Bad Boys For Life” and “Ms. Marvel” directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah directed the movie. The film also starred J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Jim Gordon and Brendan Fraser as the pyromaniac villain Firefly. Michael Keaton was also on board to cameo as Bruce Wayne/Batman, as he does in “The Flash,” due out next summer. It remains to be seen if Keaton’s cameo in that movie will happen, given Zaslav’s DCEU shake-ups. It’s also unclear if “The Flash” will even hit theaters as its star, Ezra Miller, remains mired in controversy.
So, for those who want a very short glimpse of “Batgirl,” go check out Grace’s TikTok page. It’s likely going to be the only footage anyone ever sees of the scrapped movie. El Arbi and Fallah lost access to the servers that stored the film shortly after Zaslav canceled it, so Warner Bros. Discovery is deadset on dumping it in the vault forever.