Why Warner Bros. Cancelled Batgirl
In the wake of the movie's test screenings, one of the key causes for its termination was Batgirl. As with all major releases, test screenings for the movie started as Warner Bros. initially planned a late-2022 release date to evaluate audience reaction. The New York Post reported that spectators' reactions to the film's initial test viewing were mostly negative. The story claims that Warner Bros. decided to simply cut their losses and cancel the project because they felt that a bad Batgirl movie would be too detrimental to the DCEU's future.
Another reason for the movie's abandonment was Warner Bros.'s commitment to producing DC movies as large-scale, theatrical events, and Batgirl just didn't fit the bill. The film's bad reception supposedly made WB realise it wasn't on the same level as the impending Black Adam or Shazam! despite the film's budget edging near to $100 million after reshoots and COVID delays. Despite this, the studio was pleased with Leslie Grace, who played the title role, and the Batgirl directorial crew and is willing to working with them again in the future.
When WarnerMedia and Discovery announced their merger in april 2022, it was revealed that David Zaslav, the new CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, was thinking about completely changing how DC characters are used in movies and television. It is uncertain how these plans will be impacted by the cancellation of Batgirl. However, there are some ways that this choice might affect subsequent DC-themed films, for better or ill.