Brendan Fraser Has An Eyebrow-Raising Take On Batgirl’s Shelving

Brendan Fraser played the villain Ted Carson — Firefly — in “Batgirl.” The actor is making a massive comeback to the industry, and “Batgirl” was supposed to be his return to a blockbuster franchise.

Fraser was in attendance at the Toronto International Film Festival — TIFF — where he and the cast of his upcoming movie “The Whale” received massive praise for their film. Fraser’s performance in the movie, directed by Darren Aronofsky, generated huge awards-season buzz, including an extended standing ovation after its TIFF screening. Even with all the fun that came with the praise, Fraser took the time to express his disappointment towards Warner Bros. for their “Batgirl” decision.

“The fans really wanted to see this film made. Leslie Grace is a dynamo,” Fraser told Variety. “The movie was shot and conceived for a smaller screen. In this age that we’ve come out of now between streaming service versus theatrical release, it wound up being the canary in the coal mine. What did we learn from this? Work with trusted filmmakers, like Darren.”

Fraser clearly disagreed with the decision to cancel “Batgirl,” and he doesn’t seem to be pulling any punches. While the statements from Grace, Fallah, and El Arbi reflected on their wonderful time on set, Fraser decided to go right at the studio, calling them out but not naming anyone specifically. He mentioned the small screen, potentially suggesting Warner Bros. could have released the movie on HBO Max as initially planned. But the studio decided against that in favor of a complete tax write-off.