It seems that every time there’s new information about the DCEU’s Batgirl movie we are left with more questions than answers.
Batgirl was projected to be one of the handful of DCEU films releasing in 2022, including Black Adam and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. For being a project that will not only see the return of Michael Keaton as Batman, but also Barbara Gordon’s first solo outing as Batgirl, the movie has surprisingly flown under the radar.
The curious state of Batgirl is no doubt due to Warner Bros. merger with Discovery, which has clearly thrown the company’s theatrical releases into a state of flux. Not to mention the not-so-great publicity surrounding big films like Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Flash due to recent controversies surrounding respective stars Amber Heard and Ezra Miller.
Mix that with the wave of complaints from Batgirl fans that the movie will become the only DCEU film to release exclusively on streaming (HBO Max) and you have a complicated concoction of movie making madness.
The arrival of Leslie Grace as Batgirl has once again been called into question after reports from Warner Bros. revealed that the movie would see a theatrical release in the U.K in 2023. Some have wondered what that means for the fate of the film in the United States. More importantly, does said U.K. theatrical release mean Batgirl will also get pushed back in the U.S.? Here’s what we know.
Is the DCEU’s Batgirl delayed?
Thanks to the wild success of The Batman, Warner Bros. seemed to realize the potential for profit when the new Discovery and Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav announced that “DC projects should now be made with a theatrical first goal.”
Fans immediately brought up the fate of Batgirl online, arguing that the film should have a theatrical release. Even more confusing was an updated release schedule from Warner Bros. which showed Batgirl under the “2023 Theatrical Releases” section. So, what does that mean?
For starters, Batgirl never officially received a release date, so its proposed 2022 release was only ever speculation. Then there’s the fact that HBO Max isn’t yet available in the U.K., so Warner Bros. only options were a theatrical release or moving straight to VOD.
Whether or not the updated release schedule from Warner Bros. and the news of a theatrical release in the U.K. means that Batgirl will be delayed to 2023 in the U.S. is still unknown. It’s also unclear whether the movie will still stream exclusively on HBO Max or see a theatrical release like its U.K. brethren. As has been the case from the beginning, we’re left with more questions than answers.
Maybe one day Batgirl will finally get an official release date, a trailer, and a concrete place to call home, but unfortunately that day isn’t today. We Got This Covered will update you with more information as it unfolds.