According to a source, film president Walter Hamada considered stepping down from the studio and seeking counsel in the wake of the Batgirl film's cancellation, and the new Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav's desire to build new DC leadership.
Zaslav expressed the desire to stabilize the DC business in order to compete with the likes of Disney and Marvel Studios. We are not going to release any film until it is ready. DC is something we can make better, according to Zaslav.
Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, Warner Bros. Pictures Group co-chairpersons and CEOs, informed Hamada of the canceled Batgirl film. The original film is directed by duo Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi, and is produced by Zaslavs. The studio is also under pressure to reduce costs and decided to postpone the project completely.
Hamada is said to be irritated at not being consulted beforehand and is concerned about the impact on the cast and crew that were involved in the project. The New York Post reported on August 2 that the film had poor test scores and was deemed to be irredeemable.
When Hamada joined DC in 2018, the studio was still reeling from the Justice League's losses and controversy. During his tenure, DC released films like Oscar favorite Joker by Todd Philip featuring Joaquin Phoenix, James Gunns The Suicide Squad, and Matt Reeves The Batman starring Robert Pattinson.
We are yet to see what the future of DC movies will be like when many programs and films have been canceled as a result of Zaslav's new regime.