The chatter about Warner Bros.' Batgirl cancelation hasn’t died down. As the awards season goes underway, stars of the movie are responding to cancelation-related queries in their own way. While Brendan Fraser called the decision “disappointing” during the Toronto International Film Festival, former Batman Michael Keaton responded to it at Monday night’s Emmy Awards’ backstage, calling it a “business decision" on WB's part.
Keaton received his first ever Emmy Award in the Best Lead Actor in a limited or anthology series category, for his portrayal of Dr. Samuel Finnix in Hulu’s Dopesick. He was supposed to don Batman’s cape and cowl once again in Warner Bros’ straight to HBO Max feature Batgirl, as Leslie Grace was set to portray the first Afro-Latina Batgirl, aka Barbara Gordon. Per Variety, the Birdman actor said, “I think it was a business decision. I’m going to assume it was a good one...I really don’t know.”
The $90 million feature was axed last month for tax purposes by Warner Bros Discovery’s new regime under David Zaslav. The news certainly came as a shock for talents involved in the project, as well as the industry and fans. The movie was one among several features that were canceled by the management, like animated features Batman: Caped Crusader, 'Scoob!: Holiday Haunt' and many more. The studio is currently betting on projects like The Flash, Zachary Levi’s Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, and the James Wan-directed Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom starring Jason Momoa.
While we won’t be seeing Keaton return in Batgirl, the Academy Award-winner was still set to appear in the Andrés Muschietti-directed The Flash opposite Ezra Miller. Keaton's return as the caped crusader would have replaced Ben Affleck’s iteration as the main Batman of the DC Extended Universe. However, after a change of release slate of these movies, Momoa took to Instagram to reveal his Justice League co-star’s return in Aquaman ahead of Keaton’s return. When inquired about when we can expect his next appearance the actor joked, “A little later tonight, probably, if you’re lucky enough.” He continued on a serious note, “We’ll see. It was great. It was fun. I really have no idea.” Much like Keaton, with the ongoing overhaul at the Warner Bros studio, no one can tell when and where his iteration will appear next.
Meanwhile, you can check out all details about Batgirl's cancelation below: