Shang-Chi's Simu Liu Pokes Fun At WB Batgirl Cancellation In New Post – Screen Rant

Simu Liu, star of Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, pokes fun at Warner Bros. Discovery for cancelling the Batgirl movie.

Simu Liu, star of Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, pokes fun at Warner Bros. Discovery for cancelling the Batgirl movie. Since Warner Bros. completed its massive merger with Discovery a few months ago, there have been a lot of shake-ups taking place behind the scenes. When it comes to the DC IP, Warner Bros. was reportedly undertaking a massive overhaul of its DC films and TV shows, and this week proved that to be the case more than ever. Despite having wrapped principal photography in late March, the highly-anticipated Batgirl movie, which would have starred Leslie Grace, was scrapped by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Set to feature Grace as Barbara Gordon, the Batgirl movie has been in post-production for months, and was lined up to be one of the few HBO Max original films as part of the DCEU. The studio’s reasoning was reportedly due to Batgirl not meeting their expectations and negative test screenings, as well as a shift in strategy regarding DC movies to focus on large-scale theatrical releases. The Batgirl cancellation news sent a massive shockwave through Hollywood, as it has been met with strong reactions online by fans and industry figures alike. However, a prominent member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has now chimed in on the DCEU movie’s disappointing update.

RELATED: Batgirl’s Cancellation Is A Consequence Of WB’s Bad DCEU Planning

Liu took to Twitter to seemingly poke fun at Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to cancel the Batgirl film. The 33-year-old actor mocked the situation by “announcing” that Disney had scrapped a fictional Shang-Chi Holiday Special because of “quality control concerns.” In an obvious slight against the controversial news of Batgirl being scrapped, the actor joked that he had “already filmed the entire thing.” See Liu’s tweet below.

Click here to view the original tweet

While some Twitter users have responded to Liu’s tweet by acknowledging its clear parody, most of the responses have been negative. Many users commented that Liu’s comments were in poor taste and too soon, even if his intention was to mock Warner Bros. rather than the Batgirl movie itself. Though the Shang-Chi star’s tweet isn’t directly mocking Grace, the Batgirl directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, or anyone else involved with the Batgirl production, the backlash to the joke is understandable given the many jobs and lives that Warner Bros.’ decision affects. This isn’t the first time that Liu has found himself in hot water on social media, either, as the Shang-Chi lead had old tweets resurface in September 2021 that some considered offensive.

Ultimately, the Batgirl movie’s cancellation is an extremely unfortunate situation. Batgirl’s entry into the DCEU has been erased, and would have expanded the Bat-Family on the big screen. In addition to that, it marks the loss of what could have been a new franchise headlined by an Afro-Latinx female actor in Grace, who responded to the Batgirl cancellation earlier this week and expressed her extreme gratitude to her fellow cast and crew. With all of this said, it’s unlikely that Liu intended to cause offence with this latest tweet, and is most probably attempting to target Warner Bros. rather than the hard-working team behind Batgirl. For now, responses are still flooding in from fans, and only time will tell if Liu will make any follow-up comments to this joke.

MORE: What Is Going On With HBO Max? Your Biggest Questions Answered

Source: Simu Liu

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