Batgirl (2022) (1 Viewer)

[jayembee]

Ok, this makes more sense - they’re deciding not to go forward with making the film.

Depends on what that entails. The HR article leads off with, "Warner Bros. will no longer be releasing Batgirl, the DC film that already completed shooting and was expected to arrive on HBO Max this year."

So, does that mean they're just scrapping post-production? If it's already finished shooting, it seems like it shouldn't take that much money to finish post, and dump it out onto HBO Max.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Depends on what that entails. The HR article leads off with, "Warner Bros. will no longer be releasing Batgirl, the DC film that already completed shooting and was expected to arrive on HBO Max this year."

So, does that mean they're just scrapping post-production? If it's already finished shooting, it seems like it shouldn't take that much money to finish post, and dump it out onto HBO Max.

I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t release a film they’ve already shot in some format. It’s probably more plausible that they’re exploring all avenues to find out what the best venue for its distribution would be. It’s going to take a while for the new management to untangle the mess that AT&T made out of the company.

 

[TravisR]

I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t release a film they’ve already shot in some format. It’s probably more plausible that they’re exploring all avenues to find out what the best venue for its distribution would be. It’s going to take a while for the new management to untangle the mess that AT&T made out of the company.

Yeah, even if it's total junk, you think they'd make it an HBO Max exclusive and just hope that people were happy to see a new movie on there. Even if they salvage it into something that's watchable, this news just poisoned the well for this movie forever.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Yeah, even if it's total junk, you think they'd make it an HBO Max exclusive and just hope that people were happy to see a new movie on there. Even if they salvage it into something that's watchable, this news just poisoned the well for this movie forever.

It WAS an HBO Max exclusive. That's what so bizarre about this decision.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It had been an HBO Max, but I believe they had previously decided/announced that as per the new policy it was too highly budgeted for Max and were exploring a theatrical release instead.

 

[Sam Favate]

The Post report made it seem that the film was already made and that Warner was just going to bury it sight unseen, and that made no sense.

The movie finished filming. The money is spent. They had test screenings.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The movie finished filming. The money is spent. They had test screenings.

Ok, then.. I don’t know what to think. Whatever is being reported is clearly not the entire story. It seems so incredibly unlikely that any studio would spend tens of millions of dollars (if not more) to make a film and not release it in any format on any platform.

 

[Sam Favate]

Whatever is being reported is clearly not the entire story.

That’s definitely true.

If you ask me, Warner is in free fall. Nothing but bad choices for what seems like years. And I don’t know, maybe this movie is abysmal, but they released Haley Berry’s Catwoman, for crying’ out loud.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I think the AT&T years led to some poor decision making, along with some gambles that were probably worth trying in some form or another that just didn’t pan out.

I don’t take the view that they’re in crisis now. But I do believe that all of this is part of Discovery starting to clean up that damage and formulate a new strategy going forward and that it’s going to take a while to figure all of that. Discovery couldn’t look at their books until the takeover which was what, a couple months ago? It’s going to take a year to take stock of where everything is and to shut down the programs and strategies they don’t want to continue with. It’ll take another year to implement new strategies more fully. And then probably another year for that work to start bearing fruit.

One issue, which is believe is more of perception than anything else, is this stuff takes time and both traditional and social media rarely has patience for long term coverage. There’s too many clickbait headlines to be generated with each individual item that’s part of a larger strategy. So media watchdogs and stock market prognosticators will cry out that the sky is falling each time a tiny bit of news leaks out, and most will ignore the larger context.

Edited to add: the new CEO has stated on multiple occasions that he’s looking for a Kevin Feige-type to oversee all of DC’s output and develop a unified strategy. That doesn’t mean an interconnected universe of films like the MCU, but simply having a reliable, knowledgeable and capable executive who understands both the intellectual property and how the business end works. DC has suffered in recent years by having people who understood the IP but not the business, and then people who understood the business but not the IP. Putting a pin in Batgirl very well may be part and parcel with that strategy change that they’ve already discussed. They’ve said they don’t want to put movies that cost as much as Batgirl as Max exclusives. They’ve said they don’t want to carry on with adding new DC movies theatrically until they know what the long term plan is. So this doesn’t strike me as a sky is falling thing but following through on what they’ve been say they want to do. If the movie right now isn’t good enough or seems not to quite fit anywhere, why not wait until they’ve figured all that out before deciding how to make this work?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Discovery also just has a very different corporate culture and mentality than TimeWarner did.

Most of their content prior to the WarnerMedia acquisition was reality-based, low-cost and high-volume output. Seeing what Warner Bros. spends and what they get for it would be shocking coming from that world.

I do think it's a shame in some ways. Warner Bros. is the gold standard when it comes to releasing their content (particularly their TV content) on physical media these days. They do a great job preserving and releasing their archival content. They're great at making content targeted toward niche audiences. I worry that much of that will be lost as a result of the merger.

It sounds like Batgirl was targeted between the low budget superheroics of the Arrowverse on the CW and the big budget spectacle of the theatrical releases, and Discovery just didn't know what to do with it.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Variety says tax write-off. Into the furnace it goes.

 

[Sam Favate]

The old bury-the-movie-for-the-tax-write-off trick.

Brutal business.

 

[JimmyO]

Guess it wasn't dark enough for the Brothers of Warner.

 

[Sean Bryan]

The DC Film Universe is gonna be juuuust fine, you’ll see.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

If the movie is nearly finished, as Variety reported above, I can't see how this won't leak. If Discovery is counting it as a tax write-off, everybody already got paid. And I would imagine someone in the post-production process would want all of their hard work to get seen.

 

[Lord Dalek]

If the movie is nearly finished, as Variety reported above, I can't see how this won't leak. If Discovery is counting it as a tax write-off, everybody already got paid. And I would imagine someone in the post-production process would want all of their hard work to get seen.

Oh yeah, I definitely expect some unfinished DI rip to appear on Internet Archive or TPB within the month. Somebody in the creative team surely wants to stick it to Zaslav one last time.

 

[Ross Gowland]

The following are rumours, so take it with a huge pinch of salt. And bear in mind, these could be spoilers for upcoming DCEU films. So if you don’t like either, then skip the post now.

Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wonder Woman were intended to be the new core of the DCEU with the first two replacing Superman/Cavill and Batman/Affleck. But the incoming regime hate that idea, fearing it will alienate audiences, and have scrapped Supergirl’s film and shelved Batgirl.

Michael Keaton was cameoing in Aquaman 2 and The Flash and had a major role in Batgirl, the idea being he’d hand the baton to Batgirl. But the new regime dislike the idea of a 70-year-old multiverse Batman. Also, with The Flash massively delayed (and will it ever come out?) and Batgirl shelved, having Keaton pop up in Aquaman 2 made no sense, so his role is being reshot with Ben Affleck.

Henry Cavill will be appearing in a cameo in Black Adam (teased in the new DC Superpets film of all places.)

Zaslav likes some of the casting Snyder made, but doesn’t want the Snyderverse back, per se. He wants DC films to be big and profitable. Essentially he wants a Phase 2 and 3 MCU, complete with crossovers.

Matt Reeves’ Batman is in its own universe and the contract actually states that Robert Pattinson can’t appear in other DC films. A bit like if Benedict Cumberbatch could only appear in Dr Strange 1 and 2 and not Infinity War, No Way Home etc…. So while there may be a shorter and cheaper sequel, it won’t be something they’re going to focus on.

Zaslav would be fine with Cavill and Affleck continuing, but they’d have to devote themselves to DC, which could be a problem.

MY OPINION:

If there’s truth in any of this, then this could be a great opportunity to get a good DC cinematic universe going. Whether the talent is there or would be allowed to make it work is another matter.

I certainly think they were heading creatively in the wrong direction, though. Hopefully the new direction will work.

 

[Tommy R]

I really wanted to see this movie! We need to make a viral internet movement. #ReleaseTheCut…AnyCut…

 

[Lord Dalek]

I really wanted to see this movie! We need to make a viral internet movement. #ReleaseTheCut…AnyCut…

Any (and I mean ANY) release of the movie now would be illegal. That's how write offs work.

 

[Garysb]

Why Warner Bros. Killed ‘Batgirl’: Inside the Decision Not to Release the DC Movie

'Batgirl' was nearly finished and building awareness among fans. Why would Warner Bros. Discovery throw it all away? Taxes.

variety.com

The Dish: What’s Behind The ‘Batgirl’ & ‘Scoob!’ Discard? David Zaslav’s Abject Rejection Of Jason Kilar’s HBO Max Strategy

The Dish: What's Behind The 'Batgirl' & 'Scoob!' Discard? David Zaslav's Abject Rejection Of Jason Kilar's HBO Max Strategy

deadline.com

I guess it is not available for direct to home video ether. That wasn't even mentioned in the articles I have seen.