Get woke, go broke?

Turns out studio execs thought no one wanted to watch a woke manly feminist Batgirl character so they axed the film to take a tax write-off.

‘BATGIRL’ was cancelled so it could take a tax write-down.

This was seen internally as the most financially sound way to recoup the costs compared to a HBO Max or theatrical release.

(Source: https://t.co/ut4DNx8A4d) pic.twitter.com/N9rOVj2MeX

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 3, 2022

More from Variety (emphasis ours):

The death of “Batgirl” on Tuesday sent immediate shockwaves through Hollywood. The film — with a $75 million budget that grew to $90 million due to COVID-related overages — had finished shooting months ago and was in test screenings as directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Bad Boys for Life,” “Ms. Marvel”) worked through the post-production process. Star Leslie Grace (“In the Heights”) had given multiple interviews expressing her enthusiasm for landing the title role and working with co-stars Michael Keaton (as Batman), J.K. Simmons (as her character’s father, Commissioner Gordon) and Brendan Fraser (as the villain, Firefly).

In other words, the movie was nearly finished, and already building awareness among fans. Why would Warner Bros. Discovery throw all that away?

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the most likely reason: taxes.

Read the rest here…