A new Batgirl BTS video has made its way online, depicting a chaotic Christmas tree stunt from the canceled DCEU film. Ever since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger was completed earlier in 2022, there have been a lot of changes coming out of the new studio. While HBO Max and Discovery+ co-exist for now, the company plans to merge the two services in summer 2023, with a new name yet to be revealed. However, Warner Bros. Discovery is also making significant shifts when it comes to producing content based on their popular IP, including the DC brand.
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Despite having already wrapped principal photography in late March, Warner Bros. Discovery made the decision to cancel the live-action Batgirl movie. The DCEU-based movie was set to debut on HBO Max as an exclusive streaming film as part of a new strategy by the previous regime. Batgirl starred Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, and Brendan Fraser as Firefly, along with Michael Keaton, who would have made his second DCEU appearance as Batman after the events of The Flash movie.
While Warner Bros. Discovery shelved the Batgirl movie as part of a tax write-down, bits and pieces of the canceled film are still making their way online. Emely Cartagena, who was Grace's Batgirl stunt double, released a video on her Instagram page revealing a massive stunt sequence involving a Christmas tree. Throughout the video, it shows the stunt team rehearsing the sequence before filming it, with Cartagena in costume flying into the tree. Check it out below:
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A post shared by Emely Cartagena (@emelycart_pur)
Back when Batgirl was in production, there was speculation that the film would take place during the holidays, which has now been confirmed through Cartagena's video. Without the full context, it's unclear what causes Barbara to crash into the tree, and if it was part of a larger action sequence. Since Batgirl was an origin story, it wouldn't be shocking if this was from one of Barbara's first nights donning the suit. It's unlikely Cartagena or anyone on the Batgirl team will legally be allowed to disclose what was happening in this scene.
Even if the world never gets to see the Batgirl movie in its entirety, Grace may not be done yet as the Gotham City heroine. Not long after Warner Bros. Discovery canceled the project, reports quickly emerged about the studio considering using Grace's Batgirl in a different DCEU movie. Whether that will come to fruition remains to be seen, as it is unclear where the studio is going with the future DCEU movies. Despite the Batgirl film never seeing the light of day, the DCEU will hopefully get to include Grace's character, whether in another hero's movie or TV show.