Batgirl stars Michael Keaton and Brendan Fraser, who were set to play Batman and Firefly, respectively, have spoken out about the film's cancelation. Unfortunately the DC superhero film never saw the light of day despite the amount of fans who were excited to see it. The directors, crew, and cast all had an equal amount of immense passion to bring Batgirl to life.
Batgirl was going to take place during the aftermath of the now slated The Flash film. Now, Batgirl will probably never see the light of day, leaving the future of Keaton's Batman in a state of uncertainty.
Keaton spoke his thoughts to Deadline at the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards, saying, "I think it was a business decision... It was a film, it was a good one." The actor spoke in a disappointed tone before responding to a question on when the next time fans will see him be Batman. "Oh, a little later tonight. No, I’m kidding. I don’t know. I really have no idea." Fraser had a lot more to say than his brooding co-star. "The fans really wanted to see this film made...Leslie Grace is a dynamo. The movie was shot and conceived for a smaller screen,' Fraser told Variety. "In this age that we’ve come out of now between streaming service versus theatrical release, it wound up being the canary in the coal mine."
Fraser was supposed to bring a relatively unknown villain to a much wider audience. Now that Batgirl is canceled, fans will never get to see his iteration of Firefly. Firefly has made much fewer appearances than Batman's more popular rogue's gallery of villains such as Joker, Harley Quinn, and Bane. This movie would've put Batgirl in her own light, given Firefly a new look, and could have potentially expanded the fanbase of DC Comics.
Since Keaton, Robert Pattinson, and Ben Affleck all play different versions of Bruce Wayne/Batman in different timelines or universes, many believed it to be confusing for the casual fanbase. Keaton was rumored to be replacing Affleck, and it was heavily implied that Flash would be Affleck's last appearance as Batman. Now that Affleck is returning as Batman in Aquaman 2, many are thinking this is the reason for Keaton's Batman becoming unnecessary in the eyes of the higher-ups. Here's hoping that one day, fans get to finally watch the completed version of the Batgirl film.
Source: Deadline, Variety/Twitter