Earlier this week, Warner Bros. decided to shelve the Batgirl movie despite already spending around $90 million and deep into post-production. The studio's decision was considered shocking and unprecedented due to the large-scale nature of the project and being part of their biggest franchise.
According to Variety, during yesterday's Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call, CEO David Zaslav defended their decision of canceling Batgirl. While he didn't give out any specific details that led to their move, he did imply that the cancellation has something to do with the quality as they stated that they're only committed to releasing their films if it's up to their standards.
"We’re not going to launch a movie until it’s ready," Zaslav said. "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."
The new management's move was also part of their plan on making DC films a top franchise which would mean that they are committing to making sure that each project in their slate will be of higher quality.
"The objective is to grow the DC brand, to grow the DC characters," Zaslav added. "But also, our job is to protect the DC brand. And that’s what we’re going to do."
Zaslav also addressed why they didn't consider putting the film on HBO Max where he explained that they don't see any economic value in releasing it exclusively on streaming.
"This idea of expensive films going direct to streaming — we can’t find an economic case for it, we can’t find an economic value to it, so we’re making a strategic shift," he said.
Even though the decision led to disappointment from fans and people involved in the film, at the end of the day, it is still all about business and also their strategic shift as they are turning the DC franchise into a top-quality brand and be on the same level as Marvel, which is considered as the most successful movie franchise today.
Also Read: Batgirl Actress Leslie Grace Speaks Up About Film's Cancellation
You can check more details about the cancellation of Batgirl here.
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