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Brendan Fraser Condemns Warner Bros. for Shelving Batgirl, Calling It a Case of Commodifying Finished Films

In a new Associated Press interview, the actor says the unreleased movie’s fate reflects a studio calculus that treats completed work as disposable.

Overview

  • Fraser, who played the villain Firefly, told AP it was “more valuable to burn it down and get the insurance on it than to give it a shot in the marketplace,” criticizing the decision to vault the completed film.
  • Warner Bros. Discovery shelved Batgirl in 2022 after production and post were finished for an HBO Max debut, calling it a strategic shift and stressing the move was not a reflection of Leslie Grace’s performance.
  • Industry reports linked the cancellation to a tax write-down tied to pre-merger projects, while DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran later said the film was “not releasable.”
  • Fraser lamented the cultural loss, saying young girls missed out on seeing a heroine who looked like them, noting the film also featured Michael Keaton’s return as Batman and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon.
  • The movie remains vaulted with no release plans as DC transitions to a James GunnPeter Safran–led rebooted DCU, and Fraser’s comments come during promotion for his new film Rental Family.