Joss Whedon Reportedly Still Working On Batgirl Feature Film
by Erik Amaya
It seems in the wake of Justice League‘s less-than-thrilling commercial and critical reception, a number of rumors about the shut down of Warner Bros. Pictures’s DC Comics-themed projects simmered over the last week. They range from a complete cancellation across the board to more specific suggestions; like Aquaman suspending its post-production phase and the supposed departure of Joss Whedon from the Batgirl project he signed up for earlier this year.
When it was first revealed that Justice League director Zack Snyder leaving the post-production and reshoots to Whedon, many — including yours truly — assumed the Batgirl project was a cover for his work on the film prior to Snyder announcing his departure. Or, perhaps, it was part of the plan to bring him into the DC Entertainment fold while still giving Snyder sole directing credit on Justice League.
Either way, it’s easy to see why rumors of the project’s cancellation would take root when you consider the critical beating noted feminist/scrimshaw collector Whedon’s work on Justice League, and the rest of the film for that matter, took in the last week.
But according to Entertainment Weekly, Whedon is still on board to write and direct a film based on Barbara Gordon and her exploits as Batgirl. Their sources say he is currently working on the script. Of course, if you’ve ever read his Wonder Woman screenplat, you may not be so thrilled to see him control Babs’s cinematic destiny.
Meanwhile, Shazam! director David F. Sandberg responded to a Reddit thread about the supposed cancellation of all DC projects by asking why no one at Warner Bros. bothered to tell him as he would enjoy an extra day off. The cheeky comment underlines the fact that film is still a go with Zachary Levi and Angel Asher set to star as Shazam/Bill Batson. Other projects in development include a Nightwing film, the Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad sequels, and the Matt Reeves Batman project; which is either a Justice League continuation or a complete Caped Crusader reboot depending on how hot the temperature is in Burbank at any given moment.
As always, I just want these movies feel like passion projects instead of contractual obligations. Wonder Woman proves these can work if given the leeway.
