This just in: The STW Daily News Round-Up featuring all the news that’s fit to (digitally) print for Thursday, August 4, 2022. HBO Max scraps the highly anticipated Batgirl film and David Zaslav looks for a new direction for the streaming giant.
Shakeups at HBO Max: Batgirl canceled and more
In a surprise move on Tuesday, HBO Max announced the cancelation of the long-anticipated Warner Bros original film Batgirl and the removal of Scoob! Holiday Haunt and six other original titles from HBO Max’s release schedule, including Moonshot, Superintelligence, American Pickle, The Witches, Lockdown, and Charm City Kings.
Batgirl show-runners reacted to the news in shock. “We still can’t believe it,” Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah posted on Instagram.
“As directors, it is critical that our work can be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves. Maybe one day they will insha’Allah.”
With a budget of around $90 million, the film was in post-production and scheduled for release later this year.
Unfortunately, Warner Bros shelving the film means fans may never see Arbi and Fallah’s take on Batgirl, which also starred J.K. Simmons, Brendan Frasier, and Michael Keaton, who would have reprised his role as Batman.
Leslie Grace (Batgirl), responded online.
“I am proud of the love, hard work and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over 7 months in Scotland.”
For now, Warner Bros hasn’t provided a lot of commentary about the decision, stating only that “the decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max.”
However, reports have indicated that Warner Bros is looking for their own Kevin Feige to build out an interconnected universe for their DC properties, which could suggest that Zaslav had doubts about Batgirl’s future in the DCU.
More changes to come
So what is going on at HBO Max? Since their merger with Discovery in the early days of 2022, David Zaslav has been on the hunt for a new company identity and direction.
After canceling fan favorites like Raised By Wolves, Close Enough, Made for Love, and Gordita Chronicles, Warner Bros appears to be pivoting back to investments that embrace a theatrical experience.
In addition, on Wednesday, Yahoo Finance reported that Warner Bros was set to lay off up to 70% of its development staff, which will likely be discussed further in today’s earnings call. Mass layoffs had been expected since the merger of Warner Bros Discovery.
In any case, while 2021 seemed to mark a turning point in entertainment with titles like Dune hitting HBO Max and theaters simultaneously, in 2022 we are beginning to see a shift back to industry norms. It will be interesting to hear what Zaslav has to say about all the chaos at Warner Bros Discovery and what he believes the future looks like for HBO Max.