Insult to Injury: ‘Batgirl’ Star Leslie Grace May Still Have Supporting Role in Obscure ‘Birds of Prey’ Spinoff

Actress Leslie Grace may yet get a chance to perform as Batgirl in a film that actually makes it to a release, though not as the star of the show, according to a new report.

After its big merger, the newly minted Warner Bros. Discovery canned its nearly completed Batgirl film featuring Grace in the title role. Warners said the movie tested poorly and would have been too expensive to try and fix. Consequently, the studio canceled the film, taking a tax writeoff; the suits say it will never be released.

That initially left Leslie Grace’s (pictured, left) character (pictured, right) in limbo, but, according to a trade paper, Grace may get another chance to suit up as Batgirl in a film for a DC character that almost nobody has heard of.

“Newly installed Warner Bros. Pictures Group chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, in seeking to mend fences with Batgirl star Leslie Grace, are entertaining the possibility of having her continue to play Batgirl in a future DC film,” Variety reported.

The movie will revisit star Jurnee Smollett’s take on the Black Canary character as seen in the 2020 flop Birds of Prey. And according to Variety, Grace may drop in as one of Smollett’s co-stars in the action flick.

Nothing is set in stone, though, as Black Canary is still only in the development stage for HBO Max and doesn’t have the full green light.

Indeed, the whole DC Comics universe of superhero films is wallowing in uncertainty after the Warner-Discovery merger. The various DC movies lack the firm hand of guidance that Marvel has in Kevin Feige – the man responsible for keeping its “cinematic universe” tied together. And Warners is apparently attempting to sort out its superhero properties to try and make sense of what is already on the drawing board and what could come in the near future.

There is still no real plan to integrate DC films and TV shows, but Warners announced that it intends to begin doing just that. To date, only one movie has been given the official green light. The sequel to Todd Phillips’ The Joker is now in production. Once again starring Joaquin Phoenix, the sequel will be titled Joker: Folie à Deux. And yet, this Joker universe will remain unconnected to any other superhero property.

With the cancellation of Batgirl, that leaves every other announced DC superhero property in limbo as Warners retools its comic book-based movies. The only thing for sure is that Doom Patrol and Titans will soon have their next seasons released on streaming. But after that, no decision has been made to continue them, Variety added.

Needless to say, Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC superhero properties are nearly all in wait-and-see mode after the canning of Batgirl sent a shockwave through the studio.

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