- Kevin Smith called out Warner Bros. for canceling the release of "Batgirl" instead of "The Flash."
- "In 'The Flash' movie, we all know there's a big problem!" Smith said.
Filmmaker and noted comic-book fan Kevin Smith called out Warner Bros. on his YouTube series "Hollywood Babble-On" for canceling the release of the "Batgirl" movie even though it's still moving forward with "The Flash."
"I don't give a shit how bad the 'Batgirl' movie is," Smith said. "Nobody in that movie is complicated or has anything in their real life you have to market around. In 'The Flash' movie, we all know there's a big problem! Flash is the Reverse-Flash in real life."
"The Flash," which Warner Bros. pushed from this year to next year, has been shrouded in controversy over star Ezra Miller, who has been arrested twice this year in Hawaii on harassment and other charges.
Miller, who uses they/them pronouns, has also faced allegations of endangering or grooming underage people.
Insider reported last week, based on conversations with over a dozen people close to the actor, that Miller has "sought out impressionable young women and nonbinary people whom they could isolate from their families and control."
And Rolling Stone reported in June that Miller was housing a young mother and her three children in an unsafe environment (though the mother defended Miller and told Rolling Stone that their home has been a "healing haven").
Warner Bros. is currently sticking with its June 23 release of "The Flash," though. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said during the company's earnings call last week that he was excited about "The Flash" and DC's other upcoming superhero movies like "Black Adam" and "Shazam! Fury of the Gods."
"We think they are terrific, and we think we can make them even better," Zaslav said.
In the case of "Batgirl," it was developed as a straight-to-HBO Max movie. But Warner Bros. Discovery — which was formed earlier this year after the WarnerMedia and Discovery merger — is pivoting away from made-for-streaming movies and focusing on theatrical releases.
"We can't find an economic case for it," Zaslav said on last week's call regarding streaming-first movies.
"Batgirl" cost $90 million to make after additional pandemic-related costs. Rather than spend more money on reshoots to make it worthy of a theatrical release, Warner Bros. Discovery opted to cancel its release in favor of a tax write-off instead, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.