John Oliver has taken aim at Warner Bros for cancelling Batgirl.
The 45-year-old Last Week Tonight host criticised his network’s parent company’s decision to shelve the Leslie Grace film as a tax write-off.
During a segment on unused Covid-19 vaccines, Oliver said: “We let the vaccine sit unused on a shelf in our reserves like an expired Chobani or a $90m movie on HBO Max.
“By the way: Hi there, new business daddy,” he added. “Seems like you’re doing a really great job. I do get the vague sense that you’re burning down my network for the insurance money, but I’m sure that that will all pass.”
It was announced on Tuesday (2 August) that Warner Bros had decided to shelve the film due to a changing regime behind-the-scenes.
It’s been claimed the film was set to be released in cinemas, despite having been made for HBO Max, but was considered “irredemable” in the eyes of studio bosses.
However, according toThe New York Post, the film has been totally scrapped due to a ballooning budget of more than $100m (£81.9m) as well as negative test screenings – and will no longer be released anywhere.
The Wrap claims that Warner Bros Discovery bosses, led by David Zaslav, felt that Batgirl wasn’t the theatrical event film they would like their DC films to be as it had been made for a streaming sevice.
It’s also being reported that Warner Bros is actively hoping to work with the film’s directors and cast on another project.
Many people including Batgirl directors, Grace, and director Kevin Smith have spoken out about the film’s cancellation.
Directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah said that they “are saddened and shocked by the news”.
“We still can’t believe it. As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves,” they said. “Maybe one day they will Insha’Allah.”
