Batgirl, filmed in Glasgow, reportedly scrapped by Warner Bros following poor screen tests
The DC Comics film, which was set to feature Hollywood stars Michael Keaton, Brendan Fraser, JK Simmons and Leslie Grace, was scrapped after receiving poor reviews in test screenings, according to US media.
Production reportedly cost an estimated 70 million dollars (£57.6 million) and the film was scheduled for release in late 2022.
But following test screenings the studio decided to shelve the production completely, and it will no longer appear in theatres or on streaming service HBO Max, according to US publication The New York Post.
It comes after several cast and crew members including Grace and co star Ethan Kai, as well as directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were pictured filming in Scotland.
In January, the Trongate area of Glasgow was transformed by set builders into the famous Gotham city with alterations made to shop fronts and police cars.
Batgirl was due to focus on Barbara Gordon, played by Grace, the daughter of Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon.
Glasgow earned a record £42.2 million from the film industry after cast and crew from multiple Hollywood blockbuster movies descended on its streets in 2021.
The figure is the highest sum generated for the city’s economy from the film and broadcast sector to date, according to the Glasgow City Council’s (GCC) film commission, the Glasgow Film Office (GFO).
Some of the big-name productions shot in the city last year included: The Flash; the fifth Indiana Jones film; Batgirl, the first major film production to be entirely based in the city; Tetris; Annika; Shetland; The Control Room; and Screw, the latter being filmed in the Kelvin Hall.
Other recent productions shot in Glasgow include: World War Z; Under the Skin; Outlaw King; The Wife; Hobbs & Shaw; Outlander; Succession; Still Game; and Vigil.
A new TV studio is being developed at the city’s Kelvin Hall thanks to almost £7.9 million of funding from the Scottish Government and £4 million from GCC.
The Kelvin Hall Film & Studio Hub, to be completed in the autumn this year, will become a centre for TV broadcasters and production companies.
