Leslie Grace, star of the scrapped Batgirl movie, has addressed comments that the HBO Max film was not releasable.
DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran recently criticized the movie, going as far as claiming it would have hurt the brand had it seen the light of day. "I saw the movie, and there are a lot of incredibly talented people in front of and behind the camera on that film," he said. "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."
When Variety asked Grace about the comments, she responded by revealing she met with Warner Bros. bosses Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca, who she said explained "what they felt about the project, things that were out of their hands, plans and budgets that were set in place before they were even part of the team," but "weren't really specific on anything creative in terms of what they felt about the film and how it would've hurt DC creatively."
Grace added: "But I'm a human being, and people have perceptions and people read things. And when words are expressed very lightly about work that people really dedicated a lot of time to – not just myself but the whole crew – I can understand how it could be frustrating." She also confirmed that she has not spoken to Safran or co-CEO James Gunn.
As for Batgirl's quality, Grace only had positive things to say. "I got to see the film as far as it got to; the film wasn't complete by the time that it was tested," she revealed. "There were a bunch of scenes that weren't even in there. They were at the beginning of the editing process, and they were cut off because of everything going on at the company. But the film that I got to see – the scenes that were there – was incredible. There was definitely potential for a good film, in my opinion. Maybe we'll get to see clips of it later on."
But, by the sounds of things, Grace isn't closing the door on the character entirely. "We've definitely had conversations about Batgirl's future and how Batgirl can make a resurgence," she said. "I think fans are looking forward to seeing that. We'll just see where that takes us; I can't say one way or the other if that is a reality at this point. I can't speak too much about a future for Batgirl or guarantee anything. The last thing that I would want to do is give folks any kind of inkling of something that I have not much control over – as we've learned."
Gunn recently unveiled the first stage of his and Safran's DCU slate, titled Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, which you can read all about through the link.
Next up on DC's release schedule is Shazam! Fury of the Gods, which arrives on March 17. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and TV shows for everything else the DCU has in store.
