Warner Bros explained why $90M superhero movie with all-star cast is unlikely to ever be seen

Imagine going through all the painstaking effort of developing, casting and shooting a film, only to have it ditched at the very last minute.

This might sound like a pretty costly decision, but tanking projects which cost more money than most of us will see in our lifetime isn't uncommon — who remembers the famous £22 million Game of Thrones prequel starring Naomi Watts?

Other notable projects which ended up on the Hollywood scrapheap include a $40 million (£30 million) a holiday-themed Scooby Doo flick, Netflix's sci-fi film The Mothership and a Nicholas Cage starring Superman Lives.

However, none of these quite match up to Batgirl, a shelved DC film which set production studios back $90 million (£69 million).

Boasting a stellar cast which included the likes of Leslie Grace, J. K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser and Michael Keaton, Batgirl followed the story of Barbara Gordon (Grace), the daughter of police commissioner James Gordon and vigilante Batgirl.

Batgirl's cancellation came just months after filming wrapped (Warner Bros.)

The film would even see Keaton reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman, with the pair likely teaming up to take on the murky underworld of Gotham City.

We say likely, as we'll never know for sure what the film was about as it was officially cancelled on August 2022, just months after it wrapped.

So why was it canned?

At the time, Warner Bros said the cancellation reflected the company's 'strategic shift' in relation to the DC universe and HBO Max, where Batgirl was meant to be released on streaming.

"Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance," the statement added.

Warner Bros would later expand further during a Q2 earnings call, with Variety reporting in the same month that CEO David Zaslav had said the following about the decision to cancel Batgirl.

"We’re not going to launch a movie to make a quarter, and we’re not going to put a movie out unless we believe in it," he said.

Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav would reportedly later allude to Batgirl's cancellation during an earnings call that year (Phillip Faraone/VF25/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

"These are brands that are known everywhere in the world. And as part of that, we’re going to focus on quality. DC is something that we think we could make better and we’re focused on it now."

Zaslav didn't specify whether or not he was referring to Batgirl specifically with his comments, however, reports at the time, like from The New York Post, had claimed the film had received poor test screenings.

However, it isn't unheard of for shelved films to make an unexpected comeback from the dead, with Looney Tunes flick Coyote vs Acme finding a distributor after being shelved in 2023.

But until that day comes, Batgirl remains on the cutting room floor.