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In her first major interview since Batgirl was shelved, Leslie Grace shares how she found out about the cancellation and may have returned after DC and Brendan Fraser’s “really cute” boxing gift
As Batgirl wrapped its seven-month production in Scotland, star Leslie Grace received a gift from Brendan Fraser, who played her nemesis Firefly in the DC film — a gold necklace with two pendants, a small bell and a pair of dice.
“The card said a lot of really cute things, but he basically said, ‘I’m giving you this necklace because you have to be a little lucky in this business. So ring the bell and never stop,’” says Grace. “It was just like that, whoa. And after all that, it meant so much.”
All This is the August bombshell Warner Bros. Discovery decided to kill the film co-directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. After the first disappointing test screenings, WBD CEO David Zaslav opted to take a tax write-off rather than attempt to complete work on the film, which had cost the indebted studio $90 million and would have taken many millions more to complete.
Grace says she had no idea the film, originally slated to stream on HBO Max, was on hold until the New York Post first reported on it.
“I figured it out like the rest of you,” she says. “And then my phone started exploding.”
Like Grace, Fraser says he was caught off guard by the news. “I thought I was going to be punk, but it turned out,” he says as he reads the first few stories. “Then there was hysterical laughter like ‘You’re kidding?’ I know the filmmakers and producers were expecting to hear about the film from the studio and the expectation was, “How are we going to expand the film to take it from a streaming format to a theatrical release?” But like all of us know, it was just the opposite. When we expected a lot of support and money from XYZ to expand scenes – to do pickup shots and things like that – it was a gut punch. But then we found out that it was in the interest of writing off debt? That part really hurt.”
Fraser immediately called Grace. “What I find most unfortunate is that now a whole generation of little girls have had to wait longer to see a Batgirl and be like, ‘Hey, she looks like me,'” he says. “It makes me sad. I know how good she was. And I know what that would mean for so many people.”
Fraser gets emotional while discussing working with Grace. “It was just magical to see her have the confidence of a young actress and a sense of purpose and dignity in this groundbreaking role,” he says. “She has a work ethic that is second to none. It’s dynamite—and dynamite comes in small packages, but it still packs a punch. We fight each other several times. There were a lot of kicks and punches and we got hurt but we always helped each other to our feet after breaking set pieces and knocking the tar out of each other.”
Grace is now back in the spotlight with How to Win Friends and Disappear People, a new comedy-thriller podcast series from QCode about a computer scientist (Soni Bringas) in New York City who discovers that her neighbor, played by Grace , one is vampire.
Variety spoke at length with 28-year-old Grace. It’s the first time she’s opened up so deeply since learning about Batgirl’s fate.
When it was announced in August that the film was being put on hold, what went through your mind?
It was like deflating a balloon. That day, I just took it all in, but I was also so sure about the magic that was happening – in my experience and what I saw in my cast, in our team – that I was like, ‘This must be some crazy stuff, about which we have no control.” I tend to be a very optimistic and positive person in such situations, and I just drew on the beauty of the idea that I was allowed to have this experience in my life. While I would have loved to share that with the rest of the world, nothing can take that experience away from us.
New DC Studios head Peter Safran recently said the film was “unreleasable” and could have hurt DC. Is there anything you think could justify that?
I had my own meetings with Warner Bros. Film Group CEOs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca and they explained to me on a granular level what they thought of the project, things that were out of their control, plans and budgets that it was set up before they were even part of the team. There are many things I’ve learned through the filmmaking experience that as an actress you have no control over. They weren’t really specific about anything creative in terms of what they thought of the film and how it would have hurt DC creatively. But I’m human, and humans have perceptions, and humans read things. And when words are spoken very lightly about work that people have really devoted a lot of time to – not just me, but the entire crew – I can understand how frustrating it can be.
There wasn’t anything you saw during filming that said, “This movie isn’t going to work”?
i won’t lie to you There are obstacles in every film and our film was just that. Half of the shoot was night time footage in Scotland where it never stops raining. So there were obstacles, but at the end of the day, nothing stood in our way of delivering what we wanted to deliver on this film because of the incredible crew. At least from what I could see.
Have you ever seen a final cut of the film?
That’s the only thing I asked for. I was allowed to see the film as much as possible; The film was not finished at the time of the test. There were a few scenes that weren’t even in it. They were at the beginning of the editing process and were cut off because of everything that was going on in the company. But the film I got to see – the scenes that were there – was amazing. In my opinion, there was definitely potential for a good film. Maybe we’ll see clips of it later.
When you spoke to Variety last April, you had just completed the film and you said you were already in talks with the directors about a sequel.
We still are. We were so excited about all the ideas we had because you can see long-term potential in the story we started building.
Obviously Peter Safran and his DC co-chair James Gunn weren’t there when that decision was made, but did they reach out to you?
No, I haven’t heard from them. But I wish them the best for whatever plans they have. You have many projects to deal with and it is not an easy job.
Matt Reeves’ “Batman,” starring Robert Pattinson, is getting a sequel, and there’s talk of more members of the Bat family being involved. Would you consider coming back to play Batgirl?
We’ve definitely had conversations about Batgirl’s future and how Batgirl can revive. I think the fans are looking forward to seeing that. We’ll just see where that takes us; I can’t say one way or the other if that’s a reality at this point. I can’t talk too much about a future for Batgirl or guarantee anything. The last thing I want to do is give people any inkling of something I don’t have much control over — as we’ve learned.
Leslie Grace as Batgirl. Courtesy of DC Films
Let’s revisit the first time you spoke to Variety about Batgirl. You had just been cast and spoke so eloquently and so passionately about what you would mean to young Latinas as a Batgirl. What are you telling them now?
Oh man. That your journey is not a mistake. That everything in your journey can be learned, can be transformative, can be inspirational and ambitious for someone you may not even know. I’ve learned that you can make the choice, learn from things and turn them into something positive for you, or you can be down, I’d say, ‘Just keep going no matter what the obstacle is. If you are passionate about something, don’t let anything standing in your way tell you that you are not worthy, capable, or have the potential to accomplish what you are capable of.”
Let’s talk about How to Make Friends and Make People Disappear. Did you record your parts alone or did you do it with your co-stars?
I actually recorded before the rest of the cast. I had already recorded all my parts and all episodes when we found Soni a few weeks into production. It’s kind of a self-tape scenario where they had an incredible reader who embodies all the other characters that haven’t been taped yet.
Are you already thinking about adapting it as a TV series or film?
QCode has done a great job of bringing what is just a podcast and listenable to the screen. For me, also stepping in as a producer and creating something together with Sophia and the entire QCode team felt like something we could potentially bring to screen with an almost all Latino cast. This prospect is very exciting. I’m very curious how people will react to it. I think it’s a nice way to develop.
You play a vampire. Are you a fan of the vampire genre?
Yes, I am a “Twilight” fan.
Team Edward or Team Jacob?
i won’t lie to you When it came out, I was very much Team Jacob. I’m not going to go forward, but now I have to be a little biased. I’m a vampire myself, so I can’t say that out here on these streets. My vampire family will be after me.
These questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
