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Michael Keaton says the cancellation of Batgirl was "a business decision"

That said, the '80s big screen Batman doesn't know if it was a good decision or not, apparently

Batman Michael Keaton
Image credit: Warner Bros

It’s been more than a month since Warner Bros. Discovery made the surprise decision to cancel the Batgirl movie while it was still in its post-production phase, but the cast is still talking about it. The latest actor to speak up? None other than the OG '80s big screen Batman, Michael Keaton.

“I think it was a business decision. I’m going to assume it was a good one. I really don’t know,” Keaton told Variety backstage at the Emmy Awards on Monday when asked about the cancelation of the feature.

Keaton’s uncertainty about the decision is noticeably passive compared with his Batgirl co-star Brendan Fraser, who also spoke to Variety about the cancellation recently, saying, “The fans really wanted to see this film made,” and calling the film “the canary in the coal mine” for studios figuring out the divide between theatrical and streaming releases. Last month, he also spoke to Popverse on the subject, calling the movie’s lead Leslie Grace “dynamic” and “a stone cold professional.”

The loss of Batgirl also means that audiences will miss out on the chance to see Keaton return to the character of Bruce Wayne, a role that he last played in 1992’s Batman Returns; according to reports, he is also rumored to be playing the character in both the upcoming Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and The Flash movies. Asked about when he will be seen onscreen as the Dark Knight once more, Keaton acted appropriately cagey.

“We’ll see,” he said, before adding, “It was great. It was fun. I really have no idea.”

The Flash is scheduled for a June 23, 2023 release. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is released December 25, 2023. Perhaps one of those movies will feature Keaton after all.


Batgirl may be over, but some people managed to attend screenings, as long as they were on the Warner Bros. Lot at the right time. Read about the secret funeral screenings for the movie.

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Graeme McMillan

Staff Writer

Popverse staff writer Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.

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