What Batgirl's Cancellation Means For WB Discovery's DC Plans
Following the cancellation of Batgirl, the 2023 release of Blue Beetle immediately comes to mind. Although the budget of Blue Beetle has not yet been made public, its initial approval as a mid-budget picture for HBO Max suggests that it will be comparable to the budget of Batgirl. If this were the case, Blue Beetle, which is currently scheduled to be another DC release following The Batman, would undoubtedly be affected by Warner Bros.'s decision to cancel Batgirl because it wasn't a major, theatrical event movie. Hopefully, this won't happen, and Blue Beetle is published, giving the DCEU its first significant Latino character.
The cost of Batgirl might influence the DCEU movies that haven't been given the go-ahead, in addition to those already in production. It is safe to assume that any upcoming DCEU films will have budgets comparable to those of the Aquaman, Shazam!, Black Adam, Batman, and Superman franchises of the DCEU's Snyderverse. Warner Bros. Discovery is aiming to produce massive event-style movies in the DCEU, and Batgirl obviously didn't fit this description, according to executives. The cancellation of Batgirl merely indicates that WB Discovery's future plans for the DCEU would include bigger, higher-budget films if the company fully commits to their desire for massive theatrical releases.
The fact that WB stated they still wanted to work with Leslie Grace, Adil El Arbi, and Bilall Fallah suggests that the character of Batgirl herself may still be alive despite the fact that her movie was cancelled. Despite not being ideal for those involved who intended to present a standalone Batgirl narrative, the film's cancellation may still imply that the character may appear in a future DCEU production. Where that might occur is unknown, but it is evident from WB's response to the Batgirl cast and crew that a return to the DCEU is undoubtedly feasible, even though Barbara Gordon's initial solo outing was not meant to be.