Overview
- The Batgirl movie, shot with Leslie Grace and Michael Keaton and directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, was completed but pulled from release and written off for about $90 million in 2022.
- Warner Bros. Discovery cited cost cuts and a shift back to theatrical releases when it shelved the film, and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran later called the movie "not releasable."
- On July 9, 2026 J.K. Simmons told the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he never saw the finished film and called the decision to shelve it "bizarre."
- Simmons said a single test audience screened the film and did not give a strongly negative score, which deepens questions about why the studio chose not to release the completed project.
- The case highlights how studios can use tax write-offs to recoup costs and how executive reshuffles and strategic shifts can halt finished projects, leaving cast, fans, and the industry with little public explanation.