Michael Keaton finally reacts to shelved $150 million ‘Batgirl’ movie

Michael Keaton shot scenes as Batman for a DC Studios film that ended up being shelved. Now, the actor has revealed what he thought about its controversial axing.

One of the stars of the infamously shelved $150 million Batgirl film isn’t too fussed it never saw the light of day.

Michael Keaton, who filmed scenes as Bruce Wayne — aka Batman — in DC Studios’ axed movie said he didn’t lose much sleep over its dramatic shelving in 2022.

“I didn’t care one way or another. Big, fun, nice cheque,” the US actor told GQ.

Keaton, 72, did say he admires directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who had a rebound hit this summer with Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

“I like those boys. They’re nice guys,” he said. “I pull for them. I want them to succeed, and I think they felt very badly, and that made me feel bad.”

“Me?” Keaton added. “I’m good.”

Michael Keaton got a “nice cheque” for filming scenes in the unreleased DC film ‘Batgirl’. Picture: Chris Delmas / AFP

When Batgirl was shelved by Warner Bros. in August 2022, not long after David Zaslav took the reins as president, the fracas became a major headache for the studio.

The fresh-faced cast had not yet been informed of the axing, and most were not as blasé about it as Keaton.

“They had no idea the movie was being shelved,” a source said at the time. “That’s a giant problem.”

Another insider said the actors found their poorly handled situation “humiliating” and “disappointing.”

Star Leslie Grace posted the Taylor Swift song Shake it Off on her Instagram Story.

Leslie Grace was cast to star as Batgirl. Picture: DC Films

El Arbi and Fallah, who were also blindsided, released a statement saying, “We are shocked and saddened by the news. We still can’t believe it.”

Keaton now stars in the upcoming Beetlejuice sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which, despite having the name twice in the title, turns Keaton’s mischievous character into a more supporting role than in the 1988 film.

“I think the Beetlejuice character doesn’t drive the story as much as he did in the first one,” Keaton said.

“He’s more part of the storyline in this one as opposed to the first one, which is a case of, this thing comes in and drives the movie a little bit.”

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Michael Keaton finally reacts to shelved $150 million ‘Batgirl’ movie