A new Blue Beetle standee has made a bit of an error – promoting the Batgirl movie.
Spotted by DC fans in a local comic book store, the promotional standee offers a selection of tie-in graphic novels while promoting the upcoming DCU. But a marketing blunder wrongly suggests that Batgirl is “coming soon”.
“So if you enhance on the bottom of the stand there’s this cool little easter egg,” said a DC fan via Twitter.
Zooming in on the bottom of the standee reveals the following: “Check out all of the DC films coming soon.”
Included in the subsequent list are The Batman, The Flash, and Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom among others, not to mention the now-cancelled Batgirl film.
Originally set to debut sometime this year, Batgirl starred Leslie Grace as Batgirl herself, Barbara Gordon, with classic Batman Michael Keaton set to reprise his role as the Caped Crusader.
Additionally, J.K Simmons was supposed to return as Commissioner Gordon alongside newcomer Brendan Fraser who would have suited up as Ted Carson aka the villain, Firefly.
Unfortunately, the project was cancelled back in August 2022 following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. A shakeup at DC Studios led to numerous projects being canned. Of course, Batgirl was the most controversial – the movie had already been filmed and was nearing completion when Warner Bros. decided to halt the film’s release.
The fact that Batgirl is still appearing in DC’s upcoming marketing plans is bizarre to say the least, and downright upsetting for anyone involved in the production, who won’t get to see the finished film appearing in theaters.
This marketing hitch is also a harsh reminder of the disarray at DC Films as Warner Bros. Discovery continues to send mixed messages with its recent film releases. Let’s not forget – Blue Beetle is the first DCU film, which sets it apart from the likes of The Flash and The Batman.
But with Wonder Woman 3 reportedly still in the mix, the boundaries of the DCU are becoming less clear by the day.
Blue Beetle debuts in cinemas across the UK on August 18, 2023.
