A new report suggests that the planned DCEU Batgirl movie is no longer being fast-tracked into production by Warner Bros. The scoop comes in the wake of director Joss Whedon’s sudden departure from the project last week, which left the fate of Barbara Gordon’s solo movie up in the air. Upon stepping down, the filmmaker explained that after months of work, he simply “didn’t have a story.”
Whedon’s decision came just two days after rumors surfaced that Batgirl and Flashpoint were on pace to be the next DCEU movies to hit theaters following the November 2019 release of Wonder Woman 2. Though Whedon’s departure would have seemingly dispelled that report, that didn’t stop the wave of potential replacements from flowing in, with writers like Gail Simone and Roxane Gay offering up their scriptwriting services. If a new rumor is to be believed, however, it doesn’t look like Warner Bros. is looking to keep the Batgirl movie on the fast-track.
Related: Why Joss Whedon Left Batgirl – Explained
According to an inside source for The Wrap, DC has “no imminent plans” to hunt down a replacement for Whedon, as they’re apparently in no real rush on the project. The Wrap‘s source goes on to mention that even if Whedon had remained onboard, Batgirl would not likely have hit theaters before Matt Reeves’ The Batman, as Warner Bros. had “always intended to develop the core members of the Justice League…before spinning off secondary characters.”
Those intentions haven’t worked out quite as DC had intended, of course. The Wonder Woman franchise is the DCEU’s only real sure thing at the moment, as solo films for Batman, the Flash, Green Lantern and Superman all remain works in progress after months of development. Other big budget projects like Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad and Justice League have all fallen short of expectations. Aquaman, Shazam!, and Wonder Woman 2 are the only DCEU films that currently have release dates.
The report won’t come as much of a shock to anyone following Batgirl‘s progress. The project didn’t enter the pipeline until Whedon pitched it to the studio himself, so it wouldn’t make much sense for Warner Bros. to push it into production once he left. Not to mention the fact that it would’ve been pretty unorthodox if Batman’s sidekick starred in a DCEU solo movie before he did. While we don’t expect DC to shelve Batgirl completely, their decision to pump the brakes was all but inevitable.
Are Warner Bros. and DC making the right call? Who do you want to see replace Joss Whedon at the helm of Batgirl? Sound off in the comments.
Next: Who Should Replace Joss Whedon As Batgirl Director
Source: The Wrap
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