The HBO Max movie Batgirl was canceled, even though it was mostly complete, but some people will still get to see the film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the canceled movie is being shown on the Warner Bros. lot this week to cast and crew, along with representatives and executives.
A source described these as “funeral screenings.”
Warner Bros. Discovery spent $90 million on Batgirl but elected to cancel the film to take a tax write-down. This happened under the leadership of new CEO David Zaslav, who is taking various steps to help the company cut costs.
Batgirl was “deep into postproduction” when it was canceled, but it was still “far from complete,” THR said, noting that it still needed more visual effects and a score.
Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have said they don’t have access to Batgirl, though THR’s sources said some people connected to the film “have have footage on personal drives.”
According to the report, Warner Bros. might consider “actually destroying” the Batgirl footage to show the IRS that it will never be able to make money from the project. This would be a tactic to help Warner Bros. earn the full write-down right away instead of over a period of years. Other sources disagreed, pointing to another example, the unaired Game of Thrones pilot, which HBO still has. The report also mentioned that Batgirl could eventually be released, and in that case, Warner Bros. would have to pay the IRS for its tax liability.
The Batgirl film features Leslie Grace in the title role with a cast that also included Michael Keaton as Batman and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. Brendan Fraser was going to play Firefly. In addition to Batgirl, Warner Bros. canceled Scoob! Holiday Haunt, which was also nearly completed. “Funeral screenings” for this movie took place on the Warner Bros. lot last week, THR said.
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