Warner Bros.’ shocking decision to permanently shelve the Batgirl movie, directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, over three years ago sent ripples throughout the cinema world. This choice ignited a massive fan backlash that has largely been overlooked by the studio. However, one of the film’s actors believes there’s still a chance for it to see the light of day.
“I got the chance to watch it, and it was a phenomenal film,” Jacob Scipio, one of the film’s stars, recently shared in an interview with The Direct. “Man, I’m really sad the world never got to see it. But you know, you never know. You never know.”
He drew a parallel to another Warner Bros. production, Coyote vs. Acme, as a source of optimism. “It was great that they saved [Coyote vs. Acme], I’m gonna have a ticket and be buying my ticket and seeing that movie myself. So there’s always hope,” Scipio explained. “Hollywood’s a funny place, and I think if enough people want it, it can happen.”
Back in 2022, Warner Bros. chose to use the Batgirl film as a tax write-off, even though it was nearly complete. This cost-cutting measure not only infuriated fans but also led to deeply disheartened reactions from directors El Arbi, Fallah, and lead actress Leslie Grace. In 2023, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran controversially claimed the movie “was not releasable” and “would have hurt DC.”
Yet, Warner Bros. repeated this strategy with the highly anticipated Coyote vs. Acme in 2023, despite that film also being finished. The public outcry for Coyote vs. Acme was even stronger than for Batgirl. Over a year later, the Looney Tunes film was rescued from oblivion by Ketchup Entertainment, which acquired the movie after extensive negotiations with Warner Bros. It is now slated for a theatrical release on August 28, 2026.
With this precedent, there’s renewed hope that Batgirl might also find its way to audiences someday soon. Only time will tell if Hollywood’s “funny place” has another surprise in store.
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer.