Michael Keaton says he ‘didn’t care’ when Batgirl film was cancelled

‘Big, fun, nice cheque,’ the actor said

Michael Keaton has admitted he was unphased when Warner Bros shelved the release of Batgirl.

The actor, 72, who is set to star alongside Jenna Ortega in Tim Burton’s long-awaited Beetlejuice Beetlejuice this September, reprised his role of Batman opposite Leslie Grace in the title role before the studio cancelled the film’s release in August 2022 in a bid to save money.

Keaton, who had already filmed the $90m movie, said he “didn’t care” the film never made it to cinemas because he still got paid regardless.

Speaking to GQ of the project never making it to theatres, Keaton said: “No, I didn’t care one way or another. Big, fun, nice cheque.”

At the time of axing, Bad Boys for Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah had completed work on the film and the project had been sent to post production.

According to reports from The New York Post at the time, the film was scrapped due to a ballooning budget and negative test screenings. A source called the movie “irredeemable”.

Deadline also reported that El Arbi and Fallah found out about the movie’s surprise cancellation days after the former’s wedding.

Michael Keaton in ‘Batman Returns’ (Warner Bros.)

Of the filmmakers, Keaton added: “I like those boys. They’re nice guys. I pull for them. I want them to succeed, and I think they felt very badly, and that made me feel bad. Me? I’m good.”

Keaton had been set to reprise the role of Bruce Wayne in the film, having played the role in Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns, respectively.

In his new GQ interview, Keaton praised Burton, who he has most recently worked with again on the long-awaited sequel to his 1988 horror comedy Beetlejuice, for casting him in the role despite uproar from Batman fans.

“Tim deserves enormous credit. He changed everything,” Keaton said. “I can’t necessarily say this, but there’s a strong possibility there is no Marvel Universe, there is no DC Universe, without Tim Burton.”

Keaton added: “He was doubted and questioned. I don’t know that he got enough credit for making that move. That was a bold move.”