Leslie Grace played the leading role in “Batgirl” for seven months while filming the movie, and Warner Bros. Discovery failed to notify her the film was axed.
The famous actress invested hours of work on the set of the movie in Scotland, and celebrated the completion of filming alongside fellow star Brandon Fraser. Without any warning or discussion, however, Grace discovered that “Batgirl” was being shelved when it was reported by the New York Post, according to Variety.
The star was completely blindsided. “I found out like the rest of you,” Grace told Variety. “And then my phone just started blowing up.”
Leslie Grace reveals she found out about #Batgirl movie being canceled online:
“I found out like the rest of you. And then my phone just started blowing up.” pic.twitter.com/JuaIv8lqTT
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) February 13, 2023
Warner Bros. Discovery chose to take a tax write-off rather than completing the film and seeing their project through, according to Variety. “Batgirl” reportedly cost the $90 million and would have absorbed many more million to complete. New DC Studios head Peter Safran said the film was “not releasable,” and claimed it would have hurt DC if it was released.
“It was like a deflating balloon,” Grace told Variety.
Grace rejected Safran’s claims, and said she asked to see the final cut herself. “I got to see the film as far as it got to; the film wasn’t complete by the time that it was tested. There were a bunch of scenes that weren’t even in there,” Grace said, according to Variety.
“They were at the beginning of the editing process, and they were cut off because of everything going on at the company,” she explained. “But the film that I got to see — the scenes that were there — was incredible. There was definitely potential for a good film, in my opinion.” (RELATED: Brendan Fraser Admits To Retreating From Hollywood After Voicing Sexual Assault Allegations)
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Grace explained how she picked up the pieces and carried on after realizing the public would never get to see her shine in her role.
“I tend to be a very optimistic and positive person in these types of circumstances, and I just really leaned on the beauty of the idea that I got to have this experience in my life,” Grace told Variety. “Even though I would’ve loved to share that with the rest of the world, nothing can take that experience away from us.”
Fraser shared the same views and gave a nod to the significance of Grace’s portrayal of “Batgirl.”
“What I find most lamentable is that now a whole generation of little girls are going to have to wait longer to see a Batgirl and say, ‘Hey, she looks like me,’” Fraser said, according to Variety. “That makes me sad. I know how good she was. And I know what this would mean to so many people.”