Fans of actor Brendan Fraser have hit out at Warner Bros. after the movie giant pulled the Batgirl film that he was set to star in as a villain.
The actor, famous for his star turns in The Mummy franchise and George of the Jungle, would have played DC supervillain Firefly. Rising star Leslie Grace was set to portray Batgirl, in what many fans hailed as a landmark casting as the first woman of colour to lead a comic book film adaptation, while Michael Keaton was due to reprise his role as Batman.
But Warner Bros. announced on Tuesday that the film had been shelved and was destined never to be seen by audiences, either in cinemas or on its streaming platform HBO Max - despite having already been filmed in its entirety at a cost of $90 million. The shock decision left DC fans mourning the fact that they wouldn’t have the chance to see the talented actors in their roles.
One fan insisted on Twitter following news of the cancellation: “Leslie Grace deserves better. Brendan Fraser deserves better. Michael Keaton deserves better. The fans deserve better.”
Another added: “This is some horrible news, and at the expense of a Latina led superhero film, when there are already so few.” Others criticised the move given that the studio is yet to make a decision on the fate of one of its other DC adaptations, The Flash, in the wake of several allegations against actor Ezra Miller.
Warner Bros. issued a statement on the shock cancellation, saying: “The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max. Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance.
“We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and (another cancelled film) Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future,” the studio added.
But the statement did little to appease those who had been looking forward to seeing the film - particularly the army of Brendan Fraser fans, who took to Twitter to lament the loss. “I would give everything to see Brendan Fraser as Firefly,” one person said.
Another added: “I need Warner Bros to understand that literally anything with Brendan Fraser is a magical treasure, worth all of our time.”
“Cancelling a comic book movie where Brendan Fraser plays the villain has got to be a war crime of some kind," said a third.
But fans won’t need to wait too long before catching Brendan on the big screen - the 53-year-old actor is set to star in The Whale, a film about a reclusive 600lb man who tries to reconnect with his daughter, also starring Stranger Things actress Sadie Sink. The film will premiere at Venice Film Festival this September.
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