Batgirl star Ivory Aquino has urged the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery to release the DC film after reports of “funeral screenings”.
At the start of August, DC fans were dealt a devastating blow when the highly-anticipated project was officially shelved.
The jaw-dropping decision, which was initially reported by The New York Post, allegedly stemmed from lukewarm test screenings and the studio’s recent change of direction regarding their feature films.
“They think an unspeakable ‘Batgirl’ is going to be irredeemable,” a source told the publication.
The estimated $100 million movie was set to premiere on HBO Max and featured a star-studded cast, including Grace Leslie as the titular character, Brendan Fraser as Firefly, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon and Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Batgirl was also set to introduce the DC Extended Universe’s first live-action trans character Alysia Yeoh – which Aquino played.
On 24 August, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Warner Bros was planning to host screenings of the unfinished film before the project gets stowed away indefinitely.
According to the publication, a source described the exclusive event as “funeral screenings”.
Taking to social media, Aquino shared her thoughts on the matter before urging studio head David Zaslav to release the film officially.
“As one of many who poured our hearts into the making of this movie, I ask that this measure be reconsidered,” she wrote.
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“As much as I’ve tried my best to be strong these past few weeks, I’d find myself crying, for lack of a better term, from grief, and tonight was one of those nights.
“As much as Batgirl has been labelled a woke film, it simply came together that way because of writing that reflects the world we live in. For me, more than anything, it is a father-daughter story which hits close to home as my Dad passed a year ago… and I was hoping it would resonate with other children [worldwide].”
At the end of her lengthy statement, Aquino praised the “amazing supporters” of the film before asking Zaslav to reconsider releasing Batgirl.
“She’s always been an underdog and has nowhere to go but up,” she added.
Aquino’s statement came a day after the film’s directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, said they tried to pirate the movie.
In a video uploaded to El Arbi’s Instagram account, the two discussed the moment they found out about the film’s cancellation.
After receiving the devastating news, the two tried to recover the film but were met with disappointing results.
“I called, right away, Martin Walsh, the editor, and said, ‘Yo, you gotta pack up that shit, you know, backup – copy the movie,'” El Arbi explained.
Bilal added: “Then Adil called me and said, ‘Yo, yo, shoot it on your phone!’ So I went on the server, and everything was blocked.”
In the end, El Aribi admitted that it was wrong to pirate the film before saying that he was “panicked” at the time.
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