In the months since the Batgirl film, which starred Leslie Grace (In The Heights) and Brendan Fraser (The Whale), got officially axed by Warner Bros Discovery studio, there noticeably was quite a bit of mixed messaging as to precisely why the project fell through and couldn't possibly be finished. Warner Bros Discovery gave their own stamped out response soon after the announcement, the company CFO claiming that the whole matter was "blown out of proportion" by fans and the media. Brendan Fraser, who played the role of the pyromaniac villain Firefly opposite Grace's Batgirl, called the cancelation of the film "tragic", that everything they filmed was "real and exciting" and he felt that everything was on the right track. One noteworthy voice that had yet to be truly heard on the whole debacle was that of lead star Leslie Grace. However, per an exclusive interview with Variety, the actress finally opened up about her reaction to the studio's decisions.
Batgirl was very much a big budget film that did nearly all of its production over in Glasgow, Scotland over the course of seven months. The shooting schedule successfully finished, and all seemed on track. Leslie Grace remarked in the interview how co-star Brendan Fraser sent her a wrap gift to congratulate her in the form of an endearing charm necklace.
“The card said a lot of really sweet things, but he basically said, ‘I give you this necklace because in this business you gotta have a little luck. So ring your bell and never stop’...It was just like, Whoa. And after all this, it’s had so much meaning.”
Of course by "all this", Grace refers to the media fallout from the decision by Warner Bros Discovery to axe the Batgirl film altogether last August. The film was co-directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and set to premiere on HBO Max, and unfortunately came through the pipeline right when the merger between Discovery and Warner Media, the parent company of the streaming platform, was happening. Disagreements erupted over the decision to stream the film exclusively, and how the film was also deemed not fit for theatrical release. With negative responses from every angle, the project was all but doomed and instead became a $90 million tax write-off. When faced with an avalanche of questions about why they chose to throw in the towel, WBD essentially claimed that the film was not remotely presentable and not worth spending any more money on polishing.
Leslie Grace Breaks Her Silence
However, Leslie Grace, who actually didn't find out about the film scrap until the New York Post reported it, emphatically disagreed on that notion, claiming in turn that the cut of the film she saw was in fact "incredible", if not yet fully edited and finished.
That’s the one thing I asked for. I got to see the film as far as it got to; the film wasn’t complete by the time that it was tested. There were a bunch of scenes that weren’t even in there. They were at the beginning of the editing process, and they were cut off because of everything going on at the company. But the film that I got to see — the scenes that were there — was incredible. There was definitely potential for a good film, in my opinion. Maybe we’ll get to see clips of it later on.
Despite her perception that the film was in fact very much usable and could have been finished, she relented that from all that she's learned about the filmmaking process, that sometimes production conflicts are inevitable, and as an actress she has only so much say in bigger decisions.
I had my own meetings with Warner Bros. Film Group CEOs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca, and they explained to me, on a granular level, what they felt about the project, things that were out of their hands, plans and budgets that were set in place before they were even part of the team. There are a lot of things that I learned through the experience about moviemaking, that as an actress you have no control over. They weren’t really specific on anything creative in terms of what they felt about the film and how it would’ve hurt DC creatively. But I’m a human being, and people have perceptions and people read things. And when words are expressed very lightly about work that people really dedicated a lot of time to — not just myself but the whole crew — I can understand how it could be frustrating.
Finally, when asked further about how her role as Batgirl would have made a lasting impact on young Latinas and what she would tell them now, she remarked:
Oh, man. That your journey is not a mistake. That everything in your journey can be learned from, can be transformative, can be inspirational and aspirational for someone that you might not even know. I’ve learned that you can make the choice to learn from things and transform it into something that’s positive for you, or you can be down in the dumps, I would say “Just keep going no matter what the obstacle is. If you have a passion for something, don’t let anything that stands in your way tell you that you aren’t worthy, capable, or have the potential to fulfill what you know you’re capable of doing.”