J.K. Simmons finally confirms DC's canceled movie, calling it one of the strangest stories

Anyone who’s followed DC’s attempt to build a coherent film universe knows it’s been a proper mess for years. The mishandled follow-ups after Superman Returns, the way the so-called DCEU swerved from one panic move to the next—most of it’s a lesson in what not to do if you actually want audiences to care. But out of all the superhero films DC’s binned, re-written, or re-cast, Batgirl is easily in a league of its own for pure chaos and wasted potential.

Batgirl: The One That Got Buried

Let’s break it down. Back in 2022, Warner Bros decided to kill Batgirl completely, a move that raised plenty of eyebrows—and then just left them there, permanently arched. This was around the same time James Gunn and Peter Safran were given the task of cleaning house at DC’s film division. Not that their own run hasn’t been messy, mind. See: the doomed Authority project, quietly chucked in the bin before it even got started. But Batgirl? That one was deep into production, nearly finished, even test-screened, and still got locked in a vault.

Batgirl would have starred Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon (that’s Commissioner Gordon’s daughter, for anyone who’s just arrived to Gotham), with Michael Keaton back on duty as Bruce Wayne/Batman in his big comeback role. Brendan Fraser, fresh off his Hollywood comeback, was set to play the villain Firefly, and J.K. Simmons was returning as Commissioner Gordon himself—the same he played in 2017’s Justice League. The directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, had scored a hit with Bad Boys for Life, so on paper it looked promising. The studio did a test screening, but instead of pushing ahead, chose to can the film and chalk it up as a tax write-off—classic bean-counter logic.

'It Was an Exciting Prospect'

Recently, J.K. Simmons turned up on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and the subject, inevitably, came around to Batgirl. Host Josh Horowitz asked Simmons if he’d ever seen a cut of the film. Turns out: not even Commissioner Gordon himself got a look in.

'No. Apparently one test audience saw it, and it wasn’t like it was a bad score from the test audience. It was a whatever, business decision, obviously. Justice League, which was a very small part, had its own drama attached to it. But then Zack’s [Snyder] cut, the Director’s Cut – which the DC fans really love – came out, which was really fun. But when Batgirl came along with Adil and Bilall [the directors], it was an exciting prospect to be part of the origin of Batgirl; for those who don’t know: Commissioner Gordon’s daughter. Maybe we’ll never know.'

If you can’t make sense of that, you’re not alone—Simmons pretty much spells out that nobody involved knows the full story. And for those keeping score: the actual film, which was more or less in the can, is apparently only ever seen by one group of test-card audience, then boxed up because...business.

Making the Best of a Shutdown

Simmons also gave a bit about his time filming Batgirl, saying the actual shoot was a good laugh, and praising Adil and Bilall as directors.

'It was a very good experience. Yeah, we really had a good time making it, and thought it was gonna be a fun superhero movie.'

When Horowitz said Batgirl’s cancellation was 'one of the strangest stories,' Simmons could only agree—just a shrug and a quick 'Oh well.' Given how rare it is for a nearly-finished superhero film to disappear entirely, fair enough. Even recent projects like Coyote vs. Acme (you know, the Looney Tunes one everyone keeps hearing about but never seeing) faced a similar fate but at least has a faint glimmer of hope. Batgirl, on the other hand, might actually be lost for good.

Where There's a Gordon, There's a Way?

• Film: Batgirl (never released, likely never will be)
• Main Cast: Leslie Grace (Batgirl), Michael Keaton (Batman), Brendan Fraser (Firefly), J.K. Simmons (Commissioner Gordon)
• Directors: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
• Axed: 2022, after test screening, for 'business reasons'
• Test Audience: Only group known to have seen any finished version
• Current Fate: Film written off, not shown to cast, fans, or public
• J.K. Simmons: Never saw a cut, enjoyed working on it, currently busy with Invincible (voicing Omni-Man), The Westies, Purgatory
• Batgirl in the DCU: Might appear in future projects, but nothing official