Joss Whedon Exits DC’s “Batgirl” Movie: “I Really Didn’t Have a Story”

Joss Whedon has exited as the director of Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment’s BATGIRL movie, it was announced Thursday.

Whedon issued the following statement to the Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news.

“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. 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’?”

Should the project movie move forward, Warner Bros. and new DC chief Walter Hamada plan to hire a female filmmaker for Batgirl, who has never had her own movie despite the character’s popularity. She was first introduced in 1967 as Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon, and was previously played by Alicia Silverstone in the unwatchable Batman and Robin. Rosario Dawson also voiced Batgirl in The Lego Batman Movie last year.

Whedon is best known to comic book fans for writing and directing Marvel’s The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, though he also came in to finish DC’s Justice League after Zack Snyder was forced to step away from the film following a family tragedy. Whedon also created the hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., among others.

 Jeff Sneider | Editor in Chief