Russo Brothers Shade Warner Bros. For "Murdering" Batgirl Movie
The cancellation of the movie has appeared to be resonant even outside the DCEU.
Marvel's Infinity Saga icons Joe and Anthony Russo appear to feel sympathetic to the recently shelved DC movie Batgirl — up to a point of them actually shading Warner Bros. for their treatment of the movie.
"It's rare that I can think of something that high profile, that expensive, that was murdered in such a way," said Joe Russo (via Variety). "It's sad, but we're at a time in the business where corporate sociopathy is going to rear its head because people are scared."
The cancellation of Batgirl that happened in August is still a painful issue for DC fans. In the wake of adopting its new strategy, Warner Bros. leadership axed the already made movie before it could be released anywhere in any form. The studio decided to concentrate on making the movies specifically for theatrical release, and Batgirl, according to Warner Bros. new head David Zaslav, did not live up to the standards.
Aside from the Russos, other celebrities also weighed in on the Batgirl cancellation. For instance, actor Brendan Fraser called it "disappointing", while Michael Keaton (who was supposed to make an appearance in the movie) said that it was "a business decision" and suggested it was "a good one", adding that he didn't "follow that that much".
Many fans agreed with the opinion that the cancellation probably was better off for the studio because of the movie's "bad quality" and lack of hype around Batgirl in general, but others beg to differ.
"It's also ridiculous if you don't ignore how many successful movies Marvel has made out of real unknowns like the Guardians of Shang-chi. Even if Batgirl WAS as unknown as they pretend, it's dumb..." Twitter user AdamIsTalking_ argued.
In the wake of the Russo's comments, it would be worth remembering that the majority of current Marvel stars were not very popular before the MCU. As one DC fan noted, "Batgirl is more famous character than most of the Marvel leads were pre movies."
Still, it looks like the fate of the Batgirl movie has been decided for good. The studio appears to be moving forward, with the DCEU now being spearheaded by James Gunn and Peter Safran. Perhaps, even with Batgirl being axed, we are about to witness the new era of the DC cinematic universe?