Hugely-anticipated DC Comics film Batgirl won’t get a cinema release or even appear on streaming services - despite more than around £74m ($90m) being splashed out on it.
The movie was supposed to come out later this year, but was sidelined after test screenings were panned by audiences - causing studio execs to fear the damage it could do to the brand, an insider told the New York Post.
"They think an unspeakable Batgirl is going to be irredeemable," it was claimed.
The decision means the film ranks among the most expensive cancelled cinematic projects of all time.
Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and starring Leslie Grace in the title role, the movie also features a star-studded supporting cast including Whiplash’s J.K. Simmon s, past Batman Michael Keaton and The Mummy trilogy’s Brendan Fraser.
Perhaps tellingly, the film was notably absent during a showcase by the DC panel at Comic-Con in San Diego last month.
Batgirl was meant to be released on HBO Max, with media outlet The Puck newsletter reporting earlier this year that then-Warner Bros. exec Toby Emmerich was gunning for a potential cinema release.
Emmerich left Warner earlier in the summer to begin his own production company, with Warner being re-organised to form a ‘DC-based film production' branch, according to Variety.
Sources within the studio told Variety the decision to shelve Batgirl was not a reflection on the movie’s quality or work from the filmmakers.
The studio said it wanted its DC releases to be on a blockbuster level.
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