Batgirl's recent cancellation by DC came as a shocker to fans as well as the film's own cast and crew. While the move comes from the new direction that Discovery+ and WB are trying to embark on with more theatrical films, some DC fans are not surprised with this announcement.
After all, this is not the first big-budget DC project to be canned. From Zack Snyder's initial vision for New Gods, several logistical and business reasons have been cited for indefinitely postponing or canceling such projects. Even before the genesis of the DC Extended Universe, highly anticipated projects such Tim Burton's third Batman movie and a Superman movie starring Nicolas Cage never saw the light of the day.
Batgirl
Leslie Grace was supposed Bad Boys For Life) attached to direct. The first-look stills and Michael Keaton's casting as an aged Batman offered some hype for fans, but then it made headlines when the studios decided to ax it.
The decision comes with Warner Bros. Discovery resorting to cost-cutting measures and focusing more on Marvel-style theatrical releases. Still, fans on the internet seemed to have been disappointed with the studio's decisions and wish that Grace's Batgirl appears in the DCEU sometime in the future.
Cyborg
The Cyborg solo movie was expected to hit theaters in 2020 but a lot of negligence from the studio lead to it being sidelined. The movie was first announced by WB back in 2014, but by 2017, no writer and director was attached to the project. No proper reason for Cyborg's cancellation has been offered by the studio even though Cyborg actor Ray Fisher himself suggested ideas for an origin story or for using unused parts from the notorious theatrical release of Justice League.
Cyborg did get his redemption with a more detailed and layered character arc in Zack Snyder's Justice League in 2021. However, with Snyder's vision no longer being followed by the studio, Fisher's stint as Cyborg has come to an uncertain end.
New Gods
Zack Snyder introduced Darkseid and his minions in Justice League, opening up the possibilities of exploring more stories with similar extraterrestrial characters. Based on the comics of the same name by Jack Kirby, New Gods was supposed to be the project that introduced an intergalactic team of celestial beings similar to Marvel's Eternals (which was again based on a Kirby comic).
With a critically-acclaimed director like Ava DuVernay expected to direct, hopes were high until the project was canned. The studio's narrative conflicts with Zack Snyder's Justice League and its focus on fleshing out the stories around heroes first (instead of more niche stories like New Gods) might be the reasons.
Superman Lives
After trying his hand at the Batman lore, Tim Burton also wanted to experiment with Superman Lives. The reboot of the Superman franchise was supposed to take inspiration from the iconic Superman comic book issue from the 90s, Death of Superman, and Nicolas Cage could have almost played the Kryptonian.
Today, all that remains is a set of bizarre behind-the-scenes photos with a long-haired Cage trying on a rubbery Superman suit. Budgetary reasons were the main cause behind its cancellation. Initially, Warner Bros ordered several rewriters from screenwriter Dan Gilroy to bring down the budget. But the box-office failures of recent 90s movies like Batman & Robin, The Postman, and Sphere made the project just not viable enough to fly.
Justice League Part 2
Justice League's troubled production lead to a polarizing theatrical release in 2017. And it had to take four more years and fan campaigns before Zack Snyder's original vision could be released on HBO Max. But with the time elapsed in between, DCEU's movies took a different trajectory within which it would be difficult to accommodate a Justice League 2 despite Snyder having mapped out the sequel.
The final scenes in Zack Snyder's Justice League reveal the possibilities of Superman going rogue in a dystopian future while Batman teaming up with unlikely allies such as the Joker. Unfortunately, fans would not be able to see the continuation of this future scenario as WB has clearly no plans for financing a sequel.
Ben Affleck's Solo Batman Movie
Following his stint as Batman in Dawn of Justice and Justice League, Ben Affleck decided to himself helm the writing and direction of the Caped Crusader's first solo outing in the DCEU. Given Affleck's directorial skills with acclaimed dramas like Argo, he seemed like a good fit for an exploration of an aged Batman who fights Deathstroke.
However, creative differences eventually caused Affleck to abandon the project with the script falling into Matt Reeves' hands. Reeves, on the other hand, went down a totally different route and Robert Pattinson was cast as the Batman. The rest, as they say, is history.
Deathstroke
Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke was introduced to the DCEU by Zack Snyder with a Justice League cameo. This opened the possibility of him being the main antagonist in Ben Affleck's planned solo Batman movie as well as his own origin movie which would be directed by The Raid's Gareth Evans.
The project was eventually canned with executive changes in WB between 2017 and 2018. Manganiello also told The Hollywood Reporter that “When the dust settled, it was not seen as a priority to make a $40 million movie about a villain origin story in which you show the backstory". However, now with the release of Black Adam, the DCEU is expected to focus more on developing villain origin stories,
Batman: Year One
Darren Aronofsky's canceled Batman: Year One movie was quite an ambitious project, adapting one of the character's best origin storylines in a dark and violent (possibly R-rated) setting. Interestingly, Joaquin Phoenix was the Requiem for a Dream director's first choice for a young and troubled Batman and Taxi Driver was cited to be a tonal inspiration.
Ultimately, the project was too ambitious for Warner Bros studio executives who feared that a possible R-rating would exclude younger viewers. At that time, R-rated superhero movie were anyway a rare phenomenon making this Year One adaptation a risky venture.
Justice League: Mortal
Before Zack Snyder, it was Mad Max director George Miller who was supposed to helm a Justice League movie. Titled Mortal, the project would draw heavily from the Tower of Babel storyline incorporating the comic's emotional depth and the team's inner battles. The costumes were already designed, and the League was also cast with DJ Cotrona playing Superman, Common playing Green Lantern, and so on.
George Miller's canceled DC movie faced the brunt of multiple issues such as problems with Australian tax credits, the Writer's Guild strike of 2008, and WB eventually deciding to scrap it as Miller's own versions of Superman and Batman would create confusion with Brandon Routh's Superman Returns getting a planned sequel and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy in full swing.
Batman Continues
The sequel to Tim Burton's 1992 landmark superhero film Batman Returns was supposed to be titled Batman Continues with Marlon Wayans contracted to play Robin and Robin Williams eyed to play The Riddler. Additionally, Michelle Pfeiffer and Billy Dee Williams were set to reprise their roles as Catwoman and Harvey Dent respectively along with Michael Keaton obviously donning the Batman cape and cowl again.
The movie was scrapped because of conflicts with toy companies and merchandising partners such as McDonalds. The commercial viability and the potential of making toys was less with Burton's ideas of a darker Batman movie and Joel Schumacher's flashy and over-the-top Batman Forever was finally what saw the light of day.
