Oh, DC Films. As Marvel celebrates a decade of cinematic world-building mega success, their rivals are still trying to figure out how to make more than one good movie at a time. “Wonder Woman” aside, the post-“The Dark Knight” trilogy era of DC movies has been grim. The efforts have been creatively empty, and financially disappointing, and while there have been an endless array of projects announced, they are all sitting somewhere in the development pile. You can now add “Batgirl” to the list.
Late last week, high profile hire Joss Whedon (who earned the good graces of DC by stepping in for Zack Snyder on “Justice League“) exited the project, declaring that as he tried to figure out his way into the script, “I really didn’t have a story.” It was probably just as well, given the optics of a female superhero being written and directed by a dude weren’t so great. But with Whedon gone, The Wrap reports that DC is no rush to get Batgirl to the big screen. According to the trade, DC is still focused on the big screen adventures of their core characters — Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, and Green Lantern — before delving into smaller superheroes (then someone please explain why “Shazam!” is happening). At any rate, “Batgirl” is returning the cupboard with the rest of DC’s not quite ready projects.
If there’s any silver lining, Matt Reeves‘ “The Batman” is apparently in development and seems to be somewhat of a priority, whatever that means in DC’s world. The studio’s next three projects are “Aquaman,” “Shazam!” and “Wonder Woman 2,” so even that is a few years off at best.