'Batgirl' titular star Leslie Grace is "proud" of the "love, hard work and intention" of the cast and crew, after the $90 million film was scrapped by Warner Bros.
The 27-year-old actress was due to play the heroine in the motion picture, which has completed shooting, but a decision has been made to axe the movie following a "strategic shift" in leadership at Warner Bros.
But Grace has taken to Instagram to put on a brave face, admitting she feels "blessed" to have worked alongside "absolute greats" on the film - which was also due to star Michael Keaton, Brendan Fraser, J. K. Simmons, and Jacob Scipio - and she thanked 'Batgirl' fans for allowing her to "take on the cape".
She wrote: "Querida familia! On the heels of the recent news about our movie “Batgirl,” I am proud of the love, hard work and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over 7 months in Scotland. I feel blessed to have worked among absolute greats and forged relationships for a lifetime in the process! To every Batgirl fan - THANK YOU for the love and belief, allowing me to take on the cape and become, as Babs said best, “my own damn hero!”
#Batgirl for life! (sic)"
Warner Bros has explained the decision to scrap 'Batgirl', and revealed 'Scoob! Holiday Haunt' has also been axed.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson said in a statement: "The decision to not release 'Batgirl' reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max. Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of 'Batgirl' and 'Scoob! Holiday Haunt' and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future."
'Batgirl' - which was directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah - was initially set to be an HBO Max release, and was being considered for theatrical distribution.
Speaking previously about his role as Commissioner James Gordon in 'Batgirl', Simmons, 67, previously called the movie a "treat" and indicated there would be plenty of "domestic" scenes with his on-screen daughter Barbara Gordon/ Batgirl.
Simmons said: "'Batgirl' was a treat, for a number of reasons. My little bit in 'Justice League' was, at the time, meant to be, 'Look, we're gonna introduce this guy and we're gonna see more of him in the future.' I didn't have a whole lot to do.
"In 'Batgirl', because of the relationship between Commissioner Gordon and his daughter, it's much more of a domestic aspect of Jim Gordon. We do get to see some fun, out in the street ... well, I'm gonna stop now because I really don't wanna do any spoilers.
"But it was fun to the stuff with Leslie Grace, who plays Batgirl, and get to portray a different aspect of Jim Gordon, other than as Commissioner Gordon."
