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The surprise announcement of the cancellation of the Batgirl movie hit fans hard.
While the film wasn’t one of the most anticipated releases initially, the last fans heard of it was the possibility of the movie going from streaming only to gaining a theatrical release.
So to go from something so hopeful to an outright cancellation, was a surprise.
And no one is taking it harder than Brendan Fraser fans.
\u201cwhen someone has the audacity to cancel a brendan fraser movie\u201d— miccaeli \u270d\ufe0f (@miccaeli \u270d\ufe0f) 1659518502
\u201cI had zero feelings positive or negative about the Batgirl film being cancelled until I found out that BRENDAN FRASER WAS IN IT. How DARE you deprive me of Brendan Fraser.\u201d— Amanda \ud83d\udc83\ud83c\udffb (@Amanda \ud83d\udc83\ud83c\udffb) 1659537792
\u201cBro we really lost Brendan Fraser as a Batman villain?? This truly feels unreal.\u201d— Andrew J. Salazar (@Andrew J. Salazar) 1659475071
\u201cNOO THE BRENDAN FRASER RENAISSANCE TOOK A HIT \n\nI REPEAT, THE BRENDAN FRASER RENAISSANCE TOOK A HIT\u201d— \ud83e\udd87 (@\ud83e\udd87) 1659473629
\u201cWE LOST BRENDAN FRASER FIREFLY\ud83d\ude2d\u201d— J.J.\ud83d\udd77\ud83d\udd78 (@J.J.\ud83d\udd77\ud83d\udd78) 1659483971
\u201cI 100% would have watched it just to see Brendan Fraser playing Firefly. What a shame.\u201d— Evan Monroe (@Evan Monroe) 1659478533
The Batgirl movie, starring Leslie Grace as the titular superhero and Fraser as the villain, was slated for release on HBO Max this year. However, a shakeup at the parent company, Warner Bros Discovery caused executives to take a different approach.
The movie which had finished principal photography was shelved. While it wasn’t quite finished, it was in the middle of post-production.
Fraser would have played Firefly, a Batman villain that has yet to grace the live-action silver screen. Alongside Fraser, J.K. Simmons would reprise his role as Commissioner Gordon with Michael Keaton returning as Bruce Wayne.
So an entire bevy of great actors and this film was still cancelled.
\u201cYou literally cannot announce to the world that Michael Keaton is returning as Bruce Wayne and Brendan Fraser would be a Batman villain and then steal it away like nothing! That\u2019s just too mean!\u201d— \u2694\ufe0f \ud835\udd2a\ud835\udd1e\ud835\udd21\ud835\udd26\ud835\udd30\ud835\udd2c\ud835\udd2b \u2694\ufe0f (@\u2694\ufe0f \ud835\udd2a\ud835\udd1e\ud835\udd21\ud835\udd26\ud835\udd30\ud835\udd2c\ud835\udd2b \u2694\ufe0f) 1659583640
\u201cIf it wasn't cancelled, Batgirl would have been:\n-One of the first, if not the first, superhero movies with a latina actress as the lead\n-One of the first superhero movies with a trans person playing a trans person\n-BRENDAN FRASER'S RETURN TO THE BIG SCREEN!\u201d— Toganium (@Toganium) 1659491799
\u201cI just refuse to believe a movie with JK Simmons, Michael Keaton, Leslie Grace and Brendan Fraser is somehow worse than Morbius.\u201d— Gary West (@Gary West) 1659488890
\u201cThe Batgirl cancellation:\n- Adil & Bilall directed the best episodes of the excellent Ms Marvel\n- Michael Keaton reprising his Batman \n- JK Simmons reprising his Jim Gordon\n- Brendan Fraser (!) as a pyromaniac villain \n- Leslie Grace, a Dominican performer, as Batgirl\u201d— Tauriq Moosa (@Tauriq Moosa) 1659569625
Fraser has seen a resurgence of popularity in recent years. After becoming a popular actor in the 90s and early 2000s in such films as The Mummy franchise and George of the Jungle,
Fraser says he was blacklisted after Philip Berk—former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association—sexually assaulted him at an event, giving him PTSD. While he never fully stopped acting, his blockbuster roles seemed to dry up in the mid to late 2000s.
After the success of his roles on the series Doom Patrol and being cast in Darren Aronofsky’s new movie The Whale, it looks like Fraser is rising up again.
Which makes the loss of a possibly great role like a Batman villain all the more disheartening.
\u201cWe were getting Brendan Fraser as Firefly\ud83d\ude29\u201d— Ollie \ud83c\udff9 (@Ollie \ud83c\udff9) 1659496783
\u201cImagine ditching Brendan Fraser as Firefly \n\n\u201d— D\ud83c\udd70\ufe0fz4nn (@D\ud83c\udd70\ufe0fz4nn) 1659473787
\u201cTBH I'm just tired of this business being awful to Brendan Fraser.\u201d— Kyle F. Andrews (@Kyle F. Andrews) 1659549960
\u201cThe only good news from this Batgirl/HBO Max debacle is seeing everyone remember they are Brendan Fraser fans\u201d— Joseph Darowski (@Joseph Darowski) 1659585137
Fans are lobbying for an eventual release of the Batgirl movie.
Some are comparing the campaign to the “#ReleasetheSnyderCut” movement, which sought for Warner Bros to provide Zack Snyder the means to finish his version of the Justice League movie, after disastrous reshoots from Joss Whedon.
In this case, fans just want the movie finished and released. Could it really be so expensive and worth the lost revenue?