J.K. Simmons Calls Batgirl Shelving 'Bizarre'
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- J.K. Simmons called WBD's decision to shelve the completed Batgirl film 'bizarre' on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, noting only one test audience saw it and the score wasn't bad — framing it as a 'business decision' made during the WBD merger.
- Simmons, who played Commissioner James Gordon in the Adil El Arbi/Bilall Fallah-directed film, said the Batgirl origin story was 'an exciting prospect' and conceded 'maybe we'll never know' if it will ever be released.
- The shelved Batgirl starred Leslie Grace as the titular Gotham City desk cop turned vigilante, alongside Brendan Fraser, Jacob Scipio, Ivory Aquino, and Michael Keaton reprising his Bruce Wayne from Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).
- Batgirl was shelved as part of WBD's mandated purge of completed HBO Max and theatrical projects during the merger, alongside Scoob!: Holiday Haunt and Coyote vs. Acme — with the latter eventually finding a distributor in Ketchup Entertainment.
- Simmons linked the shelving to broader DCEU turbulence, referencing Justice League's troubled history and Zack Snyder's director's cut, which he said 'DC fans really love.'
Why it matters: Four years after WBD scrapped a finished film mid-merger, a lead cast member is publicly calling the call 'bizarre' — rare on-the-record candor about a tax-writeoff-era decision that stranded completed work, even as shelved peers like Coyote vs. Acme eventually found new distribution.
