While audiences continue to rally for it to be saved, Brendan Fraser has shared his thoughts on the Batgirl movie's cancellation and why he's disappointed by it. Fraser was set to star in the DC Extended Universe movie as Ted Carson, a completely new character described as a disgruntled veteran whose benefits are cut and elects to take his anger out on Gotham City as the Firefly. Carson would have faced off against Leslie Grace's Barbara Gordon in her early days as Batgirl as the film would explore her origin story.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
Alongside Fraser and Grace, the cast was set to see the return of J.K. Simmons as Jim Gordon, Michael Keaton continuing his Bruce Wayne/Batman return from The Flash and feature the DCEU introductions of Jacob Scipio, Ivory Aquino, Rebecca Front, Corey Johnson and Ethan Kai. After filming from November 2021 to this past March on a $90 million budget, Warner Bros. shelved Batgirl over concerns of the film falling shy of new studio CEO David Zaslav's expectations for DC theatrical releases and not wanting to put more money into the project. Much of the cast and crew, including directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, have shared their reaction to the film's cancellation and now one star is explaining why he is disappointed in the axing.
While appearing at the Emerald City Comic-Con, Brendan Fraser caught up with Popverse to discuss the Batgirl movie cancellation. The actor, who was set to play the villain in the film, expressed his disappointment at it being shelved, namely for audiences losing out on seeing Leslie Grace's performance as the titular hero. See what Fraser said below:
Leslie Grace is her namesake. She’s dynamic. She gave a great performance. She’s a stone-cold professional. You’re going to see more from her. And I’m looking forward to it. [If to share lessons with my younger self, I'd say] it’s going to be all right. Hang in there. It’s possible. You’re doing okay. You have nothing to prove.
Prior to its cancellation, the Batgirl movie was expected to be a major leap forward in Leslie Grace's acting career following her breakout performance in the film adaptation of In the Heights. It was also set to be a major step in recent diversity efforts in the superhero genre of which Marvel has been setting a decent bar with thanks to the likes of Xochitl Gomez's America Chavez, Alaqua Cox's Echo and Brian Tyree Henry's Phastos, while DC has taken some steps with the likes of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and John Cena's Peacemaker. Grace taking on the Barbara Gordon/Batgirl mantle would've made her the first Afro-Latinx actor to play the DC heroine, as well as the third in the DCEU after Rachel Zegler's Anthea in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Sasha Calle's Supergirl in The Flash.
In addition to Grace, the Batgirl movie was expected to be another major chapter in Brendan Fraser's Hollywood comeback, along with fellow DC project Doom Patrol, Darren Aronofsky's The Whale and Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, amongst others. Though audiences may not get to see the film in the near future, Grace and directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are both reportedly in talks for new contracts at WB, leaving the door open for the In the Heights actor to try her hand at playing Batgirl again one day. Audiences can also look forward to seeing Fraser's return as Robotman with Doom Patrol season 4, which recently wrapped filming.