New DC boss says canceling Batgirl was the right move: 'That film was not releasable'

Even with the recent shakeup at DC Studios, Batgirl is going to remain in the vault.

Leslie Grace was set to star as vigilante hero Barbara Gordon/Batgirl in a planned film for HBO Max, but last year Warner Bros. made the shocking announcement that it was canceling the film entirely — even though production had almost finished.

At a recent press event, new DC Studios co-chair Peter Safran told reporters that canceling Batgirl was the right move, and he and new co-chair James Gunn were standing by that decision.

"Batgirl's a character that inevitably we will include in our story," Safran told reporters, via Variety. "On the Batgirl front... I saw the movie, and there are a lot of incredibly talented people in front of and behind the camera on that film. But that film was not releasable, and it happens sometimes. That film was not releasable. I actually think that [president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery David] Zaslav and the team made a very bold and courageous decision to cancel it because it would have hurt DC. It would have hurt those people involved."

Safran added that he's since spoken to Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and would love to work with them in the future.

"As I said, a lot of talented people were involved, but the film just was not releasable," Safran added. "It would not have been able to compete in the theatrical marketplace; it was built for the small screen. So, again, I think it was not an easy decision, but they made the right decision by shelving it."

In a recent interview with Collider, Grace (In the Heights) opened up about some of her favorite moments from the canceled Batgirl — including several "amazing action scenes" with costar Brendan Fraser, who was set to play the villain Firefly.

"He's one of the kindest people in the world, and I felt so blessed to have him as my sparring partner," Grace said. "We had so many amazing action scenes together where we were beating each other up, but hugging in between takes because he's just so sweet. So I would've loved people to see those moments, but you know what? You have the experience, and you keep on rolling, and I feel so blessed, all in all, that I have those memories and hopefully maybe in some future, some clips will arise and people will get to enjoy a little bit of it."

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