Joss Whedon is no longer playing in the DC sandbox after dropping out of his plans to write and direct a ‘Batgirl’ film…
Josh Whedon is out.
The prolific writer and director responsible for ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ as well as the first two ‘Avengers’ movies has decided to drop out of a planned project to create a ‘Batgirl’ movie for Warner Bros. and DC.
Whedon released a statement this week saying that he’s been working on crafting a story for the ‘Batgirl’ movie for the past year since landing the film but finally decided he just couldn’t figure out a way to make it work.
“Batgirl is such an exciting project, and Warners/DC such collaborative and supportive partners, that it took me months to realize I really didn’t have a story,” Whedon told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. “I’m grateful to Geoff [Johns] and Toby [Emmerich] and everyone who was so welcoming when I arrived, and so understanding when I…uh, is there a sexier word for ‘failed’?”
Whedon was considered a huge land for DC and Warner Bros. after he helped launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his work on ‘The Avengers’ not to mention his long standing ties to projects such as ‘Buffy’ and ‘Firefly’, which both still have rabid fan bases to this day.
Still, Whedon ultimately couldn’t make it work and becomes the latest director to split with Warner Bros. and DC as they attempt to find some stability in their much beleaguered film universe.
Since Whedon dropped out of the project, there have been dozens of suggestions of female writers and directors who could not only take over the film but add a little diversity alongside Patty Jenkins, who created the best DC film in the new universe with her work on ‘Wonder Woman’.
Writer Roxane Gay even offered to pen a script for a new ‘Batgirl’ film after she previously wrote for Marvel Comics with the ‘Black Panther: World of Wakanda’ series.
As of now, Warner Bros. and DC have made no announcements about who will take over ‘Batgirl’ or if they will even more forward with the project following Whedon’s exit.
