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The Batgirl movie cancellation caught fans and the cast and crew off guard with the managerial shift with the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. David Zaslav, a former reality-TV producer, is now head of the streaming service and has shelved the movie despite being almost finished. The directors talked about how they were blocked from the servers and apparently now it’s been revealed that the studio is holding “funeral screenings” for movies that were casualties of the new leadership.
Actress Ivory Aquino, who was cast as Barbara Gordon’s roommate Alysia Yeoh, started a thread on her Twitter, attempting to talk to Zaslav and what the movie means to her and the rest of the people who made it.
“Dear Mr. Zaslav, I just read an article [on THR] about supposed ‘funeral screenings’ of Batgirl and the possibility [afterward] that the film footage would be destroyed,” she said, “If this is the case, as one of many who poured our hearts into the making of this movie. I ask that this measure be reconsidered. 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 together that way because of writing that reflects the world we live in.”
She went on to say that Batgirl at its core was a father-daughter story that hit close to home as her dad passed a year ago, shortly before she was cast had hoped it would connect with other children that lost their own parents.
“My heart goes out to Leslie Grace and our beloved directors and entire crew and cast who spent months dedicating their all to this endeavor,” she added. “Leslie checked in on me the day we found out [about] the shelving and only had words of comfort and support. I’ve dared not ask since if she’s spent nights holding back tears like I have because she has had to be the face of our Batgirl family and has had to put on a brave face as a way of taking care of us the way she gracefully steered our film.”
Aquino’s thread eventually found its way to former Batgirl writer, Gail Simone, who said she was proud of the actress for taking a stand against the movie’s cancelation.
“As a long-term writer of Batgirl and the creator of the character the wonderful Ivory Aquino plays in this film, I could not be more proud to know her than I am at this moment,” Simone wrote. “Please read her heartfelt words and share them.”
In more WBD news, it was announced this week that both Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom and Shazam: Fury of the Gods has been pushed back yet again. The Shazam sequel was previously set to release around Christmas on December 21, with Aquaman hitting on March 17, 2023. Now, Shazam will debut in Aquaman’s spot on March 17, with Aquaman releasing on December 25, 2023.
