Why Batgirl Just Got Cancelled
3. Test Screenings Were Not Good
One of the first reasons touted as to why Batgirl got cancelled is simply that the movie sucked. In the New York Post article, the writer claimed that initial test screenings had not been promising. The report read:
"Those tests were said to be so poorly received by moviegoers that the studio decided to cut its losses and run, for the sake of the brand’s future. It’s a DC disaster."
Allegedly, WB head honchos worried that the brand would be "irredeemable" if the movie was bad, and as such got cold feet over the whole project.
Collider reporters also talked to people who had seen the test screenings and concurred that the reception was negative. In fact, they reported that Batgirl was distinctly cheap looking, with Keaton’s Batman outfit apparently being particularly shoddy.
However, other sources have contested that this was the main reasons, with Deadline explaining that their sources informed them that there was only one test screening, and it was more mixed than outright awful.
Either way it's clear the response wasn't glowing, and while this is probably not the main reason for the cancellation, the results probably didn't fill WB execs with confidence that Batgirl was worth taking a gamble on.