J.K. Simmons Calls Batgirl Shelving 'Bizarre' — SkimNews
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- J.K. Simmons called Warner Bros. Discovery's decision to shelve Batgirl 'bizarre' on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, four years after the completed film was pulled from HBO Max's release schedule amid the WBD merger.
- The Batgirl shelving was driven by a 'business decision' rather than bad test scores — Simmons said only one test audience saw the movie and the score was fine.
- Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Batgirl starred Leslie Grace in the title role alongside Brendan Fraser, Jacob Scipio, Ivory Aquino, and Michael Keaton reprising his Bruce Wayne from Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).
- Simmons pointed to the success of Zack Snyder's Justice League director's cut, which DC fans embraced, before conceding 'maybe we'll never know' why Batgirl was shelved.
- The same WBD merger purge also axed Scoob!: Holiday Haunt and Coyote vs. Acme, with Coyote vs. Acme subsequently finding a distributor in Ketchup Entertainment.
Why it matters: Simmons' 'bizarre' verdict four years on shows the Batgirl shelving still rankles cast members, and his 'maybe we'll never know' admission suggests the completed film is permanently locked away. Fellow WBD purge casualty Coyote vs. Acme eventually found a distributor in Ketchup Entertainment, though Batgirl remains unreleased.
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